Manchester United star who was dropped by Erik ten Hag speaks out

It was a frustrating Sunday for Manchester United fans. In what could have been a massive match that kick-started their season, the Red Devils faltered against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. United are dealing with some injuries to their backline, which made this match an extremely tough test for Erik ten Hag’s side. Both Luke Shaw and Raphael Varane are injured. These injuries saw Diogo Dalot playing as an inverted fullback on the left and Victor Lindelof coming into the center of the defence.

Manchester United sit an abysmal 11th in the table after four matches played. While there is optimism for the season to be a successful one for the club, it seems as though United cannot separate themselves from controversy at the moment. Post-match, Erik ten Hag revealed that winger Jadon Sancho was dropped from the squad due to his effort in training this past week.

"“Jadon Sancho out? Based on performance on training we didn’t select him. You have to reach the level every day at Manchester United. That’s why in this game he wasn’t selected”. [Source]"

Perhaps not strong words, but Erik ten Hag was very direct in his answer to the media, demanding more from Sancho in the future. While often something like this is a non-story, the spotlight around Manchester United was always going to make this into an ordeal, but the player himself has now added fuel to the fire.

Jadon Sancho saying Erik ten Hag is saying ‘untrue things’ and calling himself a scapegoat is now a situation that both ten Hag and Sancho will likely have to address further. Perhaps nothing comes out of it. Sancho makes his way back into the squad swiftly, and it becomes a forgotten-about matter. On the flip side, many people feel that Erik ten Hag indeed is looking for another scapegoat at Manchester United, citing last season’s antics with Cristiano Ronaldo, who was later interviewed by Piers Morgan where he said he had “no respect” for the Dutchman.