Giggs: Ant is upping game because of new arrival
ALEXIS Sanchez is already making an impact at United because Anthony Martial is ‘upping his performances’, according to Ryan Giggs .
The Chilean completed his long-awaited move to Old Trafford on Monday night, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving in the opposition direction to Arsenal.
The 29-year-old Sanchez revealed that his favoured roles are on the left and through the middle in his first interview as a United player - which raises questions about where he would fit in amid stiff competition for places.
Martial, for one, has been in sensational form on the left having a hand in five goals in 2018 - and Giggs believes Sanchez is already putting pressure on his new team-mates.
“Alexis Sanchez is similar to Robin van Persie in the sense they’re getting a ready-made superstar and you’re seeing the contribution already with Anthony Martial upping his performances,” he said on Sky Sports .
“That can happen when top players come in, those around them lift their levels, and there will be some difficult selection decisions for Jose Mourinho.
“However, Sanchez can also play on the right, as he did at Barcelona, so if Martial is flying then he may have to play in a different position, but those sort of decisions are positive for a manager to have to make.
“It is an extra bonus that he can play in the Champions League. To have somebody like that, who won’t be fazed by playing in the big games, makes the squad look really strong.
“The defence is obviously doing really well as well, with Ashley Young back, Luke Shaw fit and Chris Smalling and Phil Jones really solid, so I don’t think they need to do any more business this month.” JESSE Lingard was first to crack.
United’s players may have been scattered across Europe, enjoying the rare luxury of two days off, but they were just like the rest of us, watching along as Alexis Sanchez took his seat behind that piano.
On paper, Lingard’s place may be in danger despite a brilliant run of form, particularly with Sanchez eyeing up his central role behind Romelu Lukaku.
But that was the last thing on his mind while posing with a telephone in his hotel room in Barcelona. “Hello, is that Alexis? Welcome to Manchester United. Knew you wanted to come Milly Rock with the mandem,” he wrote days after sending Instagram wild with his medical parody.
The second half of that post may make Lingard’s critics cringe, but it was also a timely reminder of, arguably, the 25-year-old’s best performance this season, when he clinically finished two breakaway goals at the Emirates.
But Lingard will not be the only one looking over his shoulder. Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will also be affected by the transfer, while Anthony Martial and Lukaku will be desperate to hold on to their starting roles.
Mourinho wants intense competition for places in those departments. That may seem a bizarre statement to make when both Rashford and Ibrahimovic can’t get in the team.
But poor form or an injury suddenly changes the complexion of United’s forward line and they become even more reliant on Lukaku, who has played more football than anyone else this season.
For all the criticism he has received about his approach down the years, Mourinho likes having attacking options. At one point, in his first spell at Chelsea, Arjen Robben, Damien Duff, Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Didier Drogba and Hernan Crespo were competing for just three places.
At Real Madrid, he had Angel Di Maria, Jose Callejon, Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain fighting it out at one point. United are still a little short of that kind of stardust, but Sanchez brings a new dimension to that forward line. The Chilean already has his heart set on either the left wing or the role behind the striker and will have spoken with Mourinho on where exactly he fits in. Tellingly, he did not mention the right wing when discussing his favoured position in his first interview as a United player. It will be interesting to see whether he will make his debut from the start against Yeovil on Friday following three days of training with his new team-mates and where he will line up. The former seems more straightforward United were keen to wrap up the deal so Sanchez could feature in last Saturday’s win against Burnley - but where exactly does he fit in? Sanchez is two players rolled into Ciaran Kelly