UNITED Ole’s pick-puzzle as injured aces return
DURING United’s injury crisis over the past couple of weeks Ole Gunnar Solskjaer implored the players getting an unexpected chance in the team to give him a ‘selection headache.’
It was a demand seized upon by Romelu Lukaku and now the Reds boss is finding out just how difficult it can be to find a cure for the headache he wanted.
Having too many in-form players to pick from is certainly preferable to the state United often found themselves in early in the season, when holes were being plugged by different faces every week in a bid to find some consistency.
But Lukaku’s haul of six goals in his last four games has already given Solskjaer a conundrum to solve before we factor in the return of Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard.
Finding a system that allows them all to flourish is going to be the Norwegian’s toughest task over the next couple of weeks.
Against Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal Solskjaer opted to play Lukaku and Marcus Rashford together in attack, but against the Gunners that left Paul Pogba out of position and unable to exert his usual influence on the game.
The World Cup winner was shunted to the left of a midfield four and looked lost for much of the time he was in that unfamiliar position. Given Pogba has been the most consistent performer under Solskjaer, using a system that gets the best out of him has to be the top priority.
It’s understandable, especially given the injuries United are still dealing with, that Solskjaer would want to get both of his in-form strikers playing through the middle at the moment. But the only way Rashford and Lukaku can continue to lead the line together with Pogba flourishing in the more advanced midfield role he’s shone in since December is if Solskjaer opts for a 3-5-2.
That would keep Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and Pogba in midfield, but do United have the personnel to play three at the back? Solskjaer switched to that shape before half-time against Arsenal, but reverted to a back four for the second half. It’s been hard enough to find two reliable central defenders in this United squad, never mind a third. Going down that route would also leave no obvious role for Martial or Lingard, which presents another problem.
Both have impressed under Solskjaer and have been key to the way he has wanted United to play, at pace and on the break. But to accommodate them again it may be that United have to return to the 4-3-3 system that Solskjaer had settled on before injuries started to hit. That would return Pogba to his best midfield role with Matic and Herrera behind him, although the injury crisis has at least shown Solskjaer that he has more depth to his midfield options than perhaps he realised with Scott McTominay, Andreas Pereira and Fred all performing recently. When United’s injury crisis eases the decision facing Solskjaer might be which one of his centre forwards to go with. As desirable as playing both in attack is and as well as they linked up at Arsenal on Sunday, it’s difficult to devise a system that allows others to flourish around them.
Instead Solskjaer might have to nail his colours to the mast. Any manager wants competition in his squad and on current form that is certainly the case in United’s attack, while the unexpected Champions League quarter-final berth and, perhaps, progress to the FA Cup semifinals if United can win at Wolves this weekend will give the manager enough games to rotate.
But the decision for the biggest games and his first choice XI is likely to come down to Rashford or Lukaku through the middle. Both can play in a wide role but want to play as centre forward and under Solskjaer each has done enough to warrant that role.
It’s difficult to envisage a scenario where both get what they want. Soon it will be up Solskjaer to make one of the biggest decisions of his reign.