Kobbie Mainoo was once again a revelation in centre midfield against Arsenal in New York as he bossed the Gunners off the park.
Manchester United’s 18-year-old completely at home against what was a full-strength Arsenal midfield.
Mainoo was dominant, showcasing himself to be technically and physically ready for first-team football.
He also demonstrated that mentally he could handle it too, facing a midfield worth a combined fee of nearly £200million (plus Martin Odegaard) could have been a daunting task.
However not for Mainoo who took it in his stride and hardly put a foot wrong in what was a real statement performance.
Mainoo runs through Rice
Mainoo didn’t take any prisoners during the Arsenal match as he absolutely showed up the £105million Gunner, Declan Rice.
He bested the expensive Englishman in every department and consider he cost United nothing, we can think of 105 million reasons why Mainoo is the better player to have.
Mainoo assisted his sides opening goal, along with besting Rice in several key midfield stats; Touches, Accurate passes, Key passes, Long balls and Duels won were all won by Mainoo as per SofaScore.
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A hugely impressive preformance from the wonderkid which begs the question, how much is he worth if Rice is £105m? Not that he should ever be sold.
A conundrum for Erik
Mainoo’s consistently impressive performances could be starting to rest an unexpected conundrum in Erik ten Hag‘s mind.
Heading into the season Casemiro had the defensive midfield position on-lock, but with how impressive Mainoo is playing, could he break into the side?
It probably is unlikely to suggest that United’s number 37 could overtake Casemiro in terms of a starting birth, at least in the next year.
However, he has made impossible for him to be ignored which should guarantee his inclusion regularly from the bench and starting cup games.
Should he impress in these games, or should Casemiro struggle with suspensions again, Kobbie could get a chance in the lineup and never look back.
Ten Hag might have found hid 2023-24 breakout star already, one who has given the boss a huge decision to make in the near future.