Lisandro Martinez was hardly the best player on the pitch vs Arsenal, but what he did after scoring the own goal was a loud answer to Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.
Lisandro Martinez has become an unnecessary lightning rod for criticism from Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt of late, so eyes were on him.
The knives would have been out for Martinez after Arsenal’s opener saw him get into a tangle with Timber, resulting in an own goal for him.
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Butt and Scholes had challenged him to keep going after his Man City display, so this wasn’t a good start.
However, what he did after scoring the own goal should silence the duo for good, since he answered their biggest criticism in style.
Lisandro Martinez’s response to scoring own goal
Martinez will be the first to put his hand up and acknowledge that he should have done better with Timber for Arsenal’s opener.
Instead of attacking the ball and taking the Arsenal player out of the equation, he got into a duel with Timber and let the ball bundle around.
It eventually hit his leg and rolled into the goal to sum up a sequence of events that could have seen heads drop easily.
However, Martinez responded to that setback with trademark aggression and composure in equal parts.
He didn’t let that mistake get to him, defending on the front foot, creating chances with his passing, and ultimately ending the game as one of the key players in the backline when United piled on the pressure.
He finished the game with a remarkable 11 line-breaking passes, shrugging off his mistake and constantly trying to pin Arsenal back.
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WHAT A WIN!
If the own goal moment was something that can happen to any player at times, the response from Martinez wasn’t something every player is capable of.
Butt and Scholes certainly didn’t think he was capable of it.
Martinez silences Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes
For starters, Man Utd fans who know Butt and Scholes supported Martinez in this back-and-forth even before these two games against City and Arsenal.
Their criticism was poorly worded and ill-informed, and after Martinez’s response to his own goal, he has even silenced their biggest criticism.
When Martinez hit back at the duo in the wake of the win against City, they doubled down on it, saying that his response shows he’s rattled and gets affected easily.
In their opinion, it proved he wasn’t resilient enough mentally to cope with the demands of playing for a club like Man Utd.
Against Arsenal, Martinez’s response to scoring an own goal proved that Butt and Scholes were off the mark with their critique, again, as he showed immense mental strength to recover from his setback.
The physicality question has been answered. The mentality question has been answered.
Will Scholes and Butt finally be silenced and move on from Martinez? Man Utd fans would hope so!
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