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Mixed martial arts Talking Football with... Mikael Silvestre: ten Hag Bringing Professionalism Back to Man Utd is the Most Important Thing
We once again sat down with Mikael Silvestre to discuss Manchester United’s improving form and how Arsenal will respond after that defeat at Old Trafford. The former France international gives his thoughts on the changes Erik ten Hag is making at Old Trafford and how new signings Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro are settling. We quizzed Silvestre on Arsenal’s chances in the Europa League and whether they’ve got a squad big enough to challenge for silverware.
Marcus Rashford is in really good form recently, do you think this resurgence will last or do you think there will still be some inconsistencies? What does he need to do to be more consistent moving forward?
I’m not in his head. Nah, It’s difficult for some players to find the right formula and to keep it. So he looks like he’s got his mojo back but that’s not realistic. He’s identified the ingredients for him to play the way he did with the results he had.
He needs to apply himself and apply those ingredients game after game so it becomes habit. So he doesn’t even think about it. It’s just a habit, repeating, repeating, repeating, and that’s it.
So, he’s good, I’m pleased for him. He must be pleased too. Hopefully, he can identify those ingredients that make him produce what he was producing two years ago.
Erik ten Hag thinks he can get 20 goals a season. Do you think that’s achievable? Do you think that’s realistic for him?
It should be. He’s not a rookie, he knows the Premier League. But he needs to be served in the right area so he can produce and be at the end of buildup and plays. I think 20 in all competitions, maybe not necessarily in the Premier League, that should be his target.
Another player that’s improved is Lisandro Martinez. What have you made of his recent performances?
Yeah, it took him the Brentford game to have a taste of the Premier League, the challenge he would face. He’s responded well like I expected with his qualities. He’s strong in the challenges, 1v1s. Iit doesn’t matter who he’s facing, he just goes into challenges. He tries to be dominant.
Do you think it would be a similar kind of thing for Casemiro? He didn’t have the best game of his career against Real Sociedad last week. What do you make of his performance?
The intensity wasn’t great. Not for him, but for the 22 players it was a strange game with little pace. So for him, he just needs a bit of time to adjust to the pace and to his teammates.
He’s still learning how his teammates are behaving. When you are in the middle of the park, it depends so much on the back line and the front line. He’s just adjusting.
Real Sociedad seem to be probably the only team Man Utd should worry about in the Europa League group. How do you think they should approach the rest of the matches after this one?
Right now, they can’t afford any more slip-ups, especially in the next one. We can still take the 1st spot in the group stage but Sociedad showed they are going to compete. United need to be aware it’s not going to be a walk in the park, that’s for sure.
Anthony Martial came out this weekend to accuse his former manager, Jose Mourinho of lacking respect. He changed his squad number from 9 to 11. What did you make of the comments?
I’m laughing. We hear this comment a lot in football. It’s a lack of respect, it’s a lack of respect. It always depends on how this is being dealt with. You should call the player and explain and if there’s a good reason behind a decision, the player will accept it. But if it’s done in a way that you are in front of the fait accompli, it’s done and you can’t have a say in it.
I know you’re under contract but you have a lot of emotion in the game and ego in the game. Sometimes, if you don’t explain things it can be taken the wrong way.
But a shirt is a shirt, a number is a number. What matters is the badge that you play for. I mean for me, I’m not superstitious, but maybe Anthony was. Maybe it had more meaning than just a number, maybe it was a lucky number, I don’t know. It’s always the way you deal with it and how you approach it. When you make changes, it hurts people’s feelings.
He also said that he used to play injured quite often and it’s something a lot of people don’t know about. Does he have a point? Do you think players should be playing through injury now?
No, it’s very rare in a career to play an entire season without a niggle. Let’s say you get a knock on Thursday and you have a game on Sunday, you do some treatments, you play but you know you’re not 100% because there’s a little bit of pain. But, the more you advance in your career the more you can go through. The pain barrier increases.
I think Anthony because he had a lot of different injuries, he wanted to play so maybe earlier than he should have. I understand what he is saying, that he’s been playing through injuries and we all do that at some point.
It’s just sometimes, it’s not like you play through pain. You get accessed by the medical team. You shouldn’t be playing injured unless it’s a final and you need an injection to go through it. But since you are playing for 15 years and you use your body, you have to be careful. Playing with injury at some point it’s gonna catch up with you.
Reports came out this week that Erik ten Hag is very unforgiving of things like professionalism, sloppiness, and lack of effort in training. Some players have thought that the standards have slipped with previous managers. In your experience, how important is this?
This is very, very important. This is the core, this is number one quality of a group that is challenging for the top spot. It’s the self-discipline within the team and then the respect players have for one another. You show up on time. Whatever happens behind the scenes and games in training will reflect some point in the matches.
And we know we are dealing with top players. But if there is no discipline every day, in the game at some point it’s going to fail you. That is really important. Wherever I’ve been, we won titles because okay, there was quality, there were very good players. But there was order and discipline amongst the players.
They’re looking a bit better, Man United. They looked very dangerous counter-attacking in recent matches. Do you think this style is sustainable long term or do you think ten Hag is going to look to dominate possession a bit more moving forward?
No, I think it’s not really a counter-attack. It’s more a quick transition because at some point you take advantage and overload of the other team.
But it’s not like, ‘oh we are going to sit back the entire game and use the space with our fast forwards’. No, it’s just that at some point, the other team is dominant and then they are exposed. That’s it, you take advantage.
So I wouldn’t describe the style of Manchester United being counter-attacking. It’s just that they got explosive quick players and they go quick into transition with passes like Eriksen and Fernandes in midfield.
So, yes now, it will be just one dimension and I think the team has shown already that they can offer more than just one style, one strategy.
How would you compare it to United teams that you played for in terms of style of play, style of football?
This team is still looking for consistency. The style, assurances. It’s still a work in progress. We are still only a few games into the Premier League season so there’s no point comparing what we did 20 years ago.
Ten Hag is said to have noticed a shortage of left-footed players in his analysis at Manchester United. He’s brought in a couple in Martinez, Antony and Malacia. how important do you think it is to have a variety of left and right-footed players in the team?
It’s simply essential. Otherwise, if you play right-footed on the left side they will narrow the game instead of expanding it. You want to use the full width of the pitch in terms of progressing and making play. You want the service and the passing to be quality on the left side or from left to right.
So, it’s very good. It’s not easy if you look at the statistics. There are more right-footed players than left-footed. It was a good adjustment on the squad.
Former Arsenal player Paul Merson said this week that he thinks Chelsea appointed the better manager in Graham Potter over Manchester United’s Erik ten Hag. What do you think about it?
He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. [laughs] I’ve seen Paul a few times over the last few months. He said Potter was a better appointment for Chelsea?
Yeah. What do you think about the two managers and the quest to bring success to the respected clubs?
Time will tell. There is no better judgement than to wait and see who is gonna be on top. Okay, we’ve seen Ajax play, but people in England follow the Premier League in more than foreign leagues, especially the Dutch league.
So, I don’t know, I’m not in a position to judge who is the best manager to be honest. For Graham Potter, we will see. It’s a new squad, new environment, new club. For Erik, the same. It’s interesting but it’s all about where they finish at the end of the season. That will tell you if you are a good manager or not. Because you are there to win games and to win trophies.
Arsenal had their first Europa League game last week. Traditionally, they view the Europa League as a chance to kind of rotate players, play some younger players, especially in the group stage. But Mikel Arteta named quite a strong team last week. Do you think this is the right approach to take the competition very seriously from the beginning?
I think it’s important to start any competition at full strength – whether it’s at club level or national team level. You need to find your feet, to show that you take the competition seriously and to give yourself a chance to progress in the competition. I think it is the best way to approach it.
During the game, Arteta had to bring players like Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Odegaard off the bench. There is concern about the squad depth, whether it will come back to hurt them as they compete in the Premier League and the cup competitions. Do you have similar worries?
It might be okay up until the World Cup. The World Cup is a good break but after that, you have a series of games for Christmas and New Year. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think it might be a heavy schedule.
From the beginning, I’ve noticed that Arsenal might be a bit short in some positions, especially in midfield and the attack. So, it’s gonna be a big test for the entire squad, rotation. It could become a concern in March and April when the bodies are getting tired.
So, Brentford v Arsenal game is gonna take place this weekend, all be it at a different kick-off time. What should we expect from the game? Arsenal win or do you think Brenfrord can get into it and get a result?
I think Arsenal should come on top of that game. They’ve shown that they can travel. At Old Trafford, they were imposing their football and I think that they won’t be afraid to do the same against Brentford.
What they have to answer is the physical aspect of the game. Gabriel, Saliba, White and Zinchenko, I think they’ve got what it takes. They have enough experience now to deal with those situations. I don’t expect Arsenal to get into too much trouble over there.
Ben White is playing right-back the majority of the time for Saliba and Gabriel to play in the middle but it looks like Tomiyasu is coming back into fitness. Do you think it’s the right time for him to get back into the team, maybe replace Ben White?
Not necessarily. I think Ben White has been doing better than a lot of people would expect. Especially in a game like this, he should retain his starting spot. He’s been good going forward. He’s been distributing well and applying what Arteta wants.
It’s been working well. So no, I don’t think he should be dropped. Unless there is rotation for recovery. If I look at the merit and performance, he should retain his spot.
A couple of Arsenal loanees are doing really well in France, Nuno Tavares and Folarin Balogun are playing well, scoring plenty of goals. Do you see them returning to Arsenal and playing a bit more next season?
Well look, it’s good but it’s still early days. But as a foreigner, to adapt that fast and to perform is very good for them. Because when you go on loan it’s to play and to get the game time you would not supposed to get in your mother club.
So, yeah, it’s very positive, they are making a good impression since they arrived.
Former vice-chairman David Dein said this week that the club should’ve kept Arsene Wenger at Arsenal in some capacity and that Wenger was “hurt” by the manner of his exit from Arsenal. Do you think this is fair? Should Wenger have stayed at Arsenal, perhaps in a similar capacity to how Alex Ferguson is involved in Manchester United?
When you have such a character and a charismatic person as a manager for more than 20 years, it’s difficult to keep them in a position where they are there but they can’t impose too much of a shadow on a manager.
You always compare the past and the present. That’s a risk maybe the ownership wasn’t ready to take,
Also, Arsene is someone who is very active. So, you put him in an ambassador role I don’t think it would for him. He wants to be on the pitch every day, training and talking tactics, techniques, all the aspects of the game.
It’s always a question of how you manage the situation. Maybe they wanted a fresh start which is difficult. But I understand David Dein’s comment because of the years of doubt that came after Arsene left. There was a big void. Nobody was filling that and it brought Arsenal backwards. It’s a tough one.
Paul Pogba could miss out on the World Cup because of his knee injury. Who do you think would be the best replacement for him in the national setup?
I think we have a reserve player who have been called up whenever Pogba was injured. So it’s between Tchouameni, Kante, Rabiot, Tolisso, who’s back to Lyon. Camavinga is doing well. So, there are options. As long as those players are playing and performing, it shouldn’t be an issue.
N’Golo Kante is still recovering, do you think the ideal France midfield still has Kante playing in it?
Yeah, he is still first pick in midfield with Paul Pogba. Hopefully, he will be back fit and ready for the competition. No one has else right you can put in that position ahead of Kante.
They are playing against Denmark in the second national game, the group leaders. What do you make of Denmark so far?
Yeah, they continue on the back of the Euro, Denmark. They are playing nice attacking football and are getting the results. It’s a good group of players, a good generation, a good coach and they are having fun. There are strong and experienced players, it’s a good mix of youth and experienced players – Simon Kjaer is out, but Christensen and Eriksen. It’s a good group of players. They are a threat to France for sure.
That would be a warm-up for the World Cup, as they are in the same group. Will they have one eye on that game when playing in the Nation’s League match?
Yeah, yeah. For sure. It’s already starting so it’s in everybody’s head. Those games are important to prepare for the World Cup. It’s the last time you meet before the group. The squad is even and these are big games.
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