It is not even the sheer number of goals Chido-Obi Martin scores that makes the Manchester United wonderkid such an enthralling talent.
It is the variety of the goals he scores.
As the former Arsenal starlet marked his Manchester United debut with a hat-trick against Nottingham Forest a fortnight ago – his first was a classic skip around the goalkeeper and roll it into the empty net. Chido Obi-Martin doubled his tally mere moments later with his other foot, driving a low, hard strike into the bottom corner.
Then came a third with just 14 minutes on the clock. A cool, left-footed sweep from close range this time.
Apparently he is more comfortable with his right than his left. Not that you’d have guessed it, given the way he opened the scoring with another stylish finish off his so-called ‘weaker’ foot as Manchester United cruised past Everton on Saturday lunchtime.
Chido Obi-Martin scores as Manchester United beat Everton
Capping off an outstanding team move, the 16-year-old sensation did not even break stride as he dismissively slotted the ball past an onrushing Toffees goalkeeper.
You cannot keep a good centre-forward down for long. Obi-Martin had already seen one attempt cleared off the line before opening the scoring in the sixth minute.
And one of the most exciting additions of the Ineos era is displaying all the potential to be a very, very good centre-forward, so long as his remarkable youth team displays can be translated onto the senior stage.
Only a couple of fine saves, meanwhile, denied Obi-Martin another goal not to mention what would have been a fine assist as he span past an unwitting Everton defender before cutting the ball back from the byline.
The Dane’s Man United record, meanwhile, now stands at four goals in four games. From mid-March onwards, meanwhile, Obi-Martin has plundered a quite staggering 32 in his last 13 appearances both for Arsenal and the Red Devils in the Under 18 Premier League.
Obi-Martin has 32 goals in last 13 Under 18 Premier League games
No wonder Man United think they have signed ‘a gem’. And, to think, while he usually played the full 90 minutes every week for The Gunners, Obi-Martin’s minutes so far in a United shirt have been relatively fleeting.
After a couple of cameos and a half-time withdrawal against Nottingham Forest, Obi-Martin’s 71-minute outing in an eventual 3-0 victory over Everton was his longest outing for his new employers.
A fabulous Jim Thwaites free-kick and a late clincher by Bendito Mantato, meanwhile, means the reigning Under 18 champions have maintained the gap between themselves and Man City at the top of the table.
“Really good game,” United coach Adam Lawrence told MUTV after a ninth win in nine league matches. “Enjoyed it just in terms of the different challenges Everton posed.
“They played some decent stuff, put two strikers up against our centre-haves and [played] direct balls and made some good runs in behind
“They posted us problems in different ways today but, obviously, we got the job done.”
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