Should Man Utd Keep Faith With Zlatan Ibrahimovic?

It’s probably strange to say this of a player who has won as much as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but now is as good a time as any to retain faith. The Swede has only scored once in his last 10 games and has not only struggled for his finishing touch but also looked listless and lacking in energy.

Ibrahimovic’s underwhelming performances of late have put his preseason boasts into context and, for now, any comparisons to Eric Cantona look fanciful. Having said that, it still makes some sense to persist with Ibrahimovic as the focus of United’s attack.

Though he and his teammates failed to score in a desperately disappointing 0-0 draw against Burnley, a result that saw United slip even further behind the league’s leading sides, there was, oddly enough, encouragement to be drawn from this performance.

The first thing to note, as a matter of context, is that Burnley are no slouches when it comes to repelling dangerous attacks. After all, they kept Liverpool at bay for 90 minutes in August and then, last month, only lost to Arsenal through a last-minute goals.

Moreover, while Ibrahmovic’s indecisiveness in front of goal was a factor last Saturday, even more so was a performance for the ages from Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton. The statistics tell the story: United had 37 attempts in total, including 11 on target.

There are two reasons why Ibrahimovic should stay in the lineup. The first is that his understanding with Juan Mata in the second half vs. Burnley was superb, with the Spanish playmaker frequently finding him in dangerous areas. Ibrahimovic took up positions in and around the box and was an excellent pivot for Mata as he drove the team forward with prompt passes.

The second reason is that United’s forward line has not been truly tried at full strength. For the early part of the year, Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney were paired up, but seemed to spend much of the time getting in each other’s way.

More recently, as Mata has played more and more, the attack has looked significantly more fluid. Yet, if and when Henrikh Mkhitaryan is eased into the side ahead of Jesse Lingard, Ibrahimovic’s true worth as a passer will finally become apparent.

Lingard is in many ways a quintessential Mourinho wide player, in that he attacks with intensity and defends with diligence. He performs much the same role that Willian does for Chelsea, albeit with less aplomb. Yet a key feature of Lingard’s performance against Burnley, particularly in the first half, was his failure to complete passes at high speed, thus allowing the defence to regroup.

Too often, Lingard deliberated before delivering the ball. This was a vital omission because neither Mata nor Ibrahimovic are fleet of foot and so rely upon dynamism around them; Lingard lacks the extra level of execution to bring the best from his team’s No. 9.

Mkhitaryan is the perfect player to galvanise their attack. It has been suggested that he is having trouble adjusting to the demands of the Premier League but it seems churlish to suggest that someone who could lead the Bundesliga in assists, as he did last year with 15, would not represent an immediate upgrade on Lingard.

The thought of Mkhitaryan combining with Paul Pogba, who got forward impressively against Burnley, is an exciting one; the Armenian would be the injection of urgency that the forward line needs, while he would lessen Ibrahimovic’s isolation and, accordingly, the frequency with which he has been snatching at recent chances.

While the clamour to drop Ibrahimovic may be growing in some quarters, there is every reason to think that, if he is placed at the head of United’s best attack — that is to say, with Mata and Pogba behind him, Mkhitaryan to his right, and Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial to his left — then the goals will flow again, both from Ibrahimovic and from those around him.

He can be the fulcrum of a forward line with speed and skill and also prove that, though the Burnley game was a disappointing moment, it sowed the seeds of a very promising future.