Remember the amusement when James Garner’s Nottingham Forest beat Arsenal in the previous round of the FA Cup? Well there was no laughing this weekend when Manchester United were dumped out by Middlesbrough.
Garner’s Forest continued their good run, beating Premier League Leicester City to dump the holders out of the competition.
While United fans could not enjoy Garner’s success amid a generally miserable weekend after our no cup exit, the 20-year-old midfielder has provided a little bit of hope.
Garner did something for Forest which no Manchester United player has done all season in more than 120 attempts… he provided an assist from a corner.
Pinpoint Garner
Garner’s corner kick was headed in by Forest defender Joe Worrall for his side’s third goal of the game as they ran riot over Brendan Rodgers’ side.
This was an illustration of just one of the assets Garner can bring back to United upon his return.
Throughout this season the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw, Alex Telles and Juan Mata have tried to solve United’s corner taking problem, without success.
Embarrassingly, the only team to score from a Manchester United corner this season is Everton, springing a counter-attack to seize a point in the October draw at Old Trafford.
We wrote in January how Ralf Rangnick should have brought Garner back during the international break just to take a look at the midfielder, and see if he could provide an alternative to United’s current options.
Garner’s corner taking ability is an extra string to his bow, a product of his excellent passing ability which he so often demonstrates during open play.
United are thin on midfield options, and Garner is a player the club should be looking to bring in to help replace Nemanja Matic, now 33.
The two FA Cup wins against Arsenal and Leicester have demonstrated he is more than capable of delivering against Premier League opposition.
A big pre-season will await for the youngster when he returns, and this time he deserves a proper chance.
He has really hit form over the past couple of months for Forest and with a fifth round fixture at home to Huddersfield Town, Garner could soon be looking forward to a FA Cup quarter-final.
- Man Utd learned two things from Spain vs Argentina World Cup final, Carrick’s common theme
- Lisandro Martinez injured in World Cup Final for Argentina
- Man Utd 0-1 Wrexham re-told – How Joshua Zirkzee, Andrey Santos, and Harry Amass fared in pre-season defeat
- Man United are about to lose their Marcus Rashford replacement so Ineos must make a final decision
- Lisandro Martinez can break Man United record in World Cup final, overtaking Sir Bobby Charlton
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
