Early into his time at Manchester United, Ayden Heaven was asked to play against his former club Arsenal after Leny Yoro was taken off at half-time after picking up an injury.
With Heaven just being 18, Ruben Amorim was forced into taking a risk of throwing such a young player into the deep end in one of the biggest games in English football.
But Ayden Heaven did not seem overawed whatsoever about playing against Arsenal in the biggest game of his career as a Manchester United player.
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Sunday
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The teenager seemed confident as he flew into tackles, rallied up the Old Trafford crowd and looked comfortable in and out of possession.
Gary Lineker lauded Heaven’s display against Arsenal and so did Alan Shearer as he slotted into the role of a left-sided centre-back in a back three with relative ease.
Arsenal did not wish to sell Heaven but his decision to make a move to United looks justified as he has already become a first-team player, much like Chido Obi.
Rio Ferdinand hails Ayden Heaven after Manchester United vs Arsenal
At Arsenal, perhaps Heaven would still be playing youth football as breaking into a senior side that features centre-backs of the ilk of William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori is no mean feat.
But the same is not the case at United, especially considering Lisandro Martinez picked up an ACL injury and Yoro is a rising star like the Englishman himself.
As Manchester United earned a well-deserved point against Arsenal, Rio Ferdinand was full of praise for how Heaven fared keeping in mind the pressure on his shoulders of playing against his former employers.
The pundit said on Rio Ferdinand Presents’ YouTube channel: “I saw a good attitude because I saw a man looking like, ‘I ain’t going to let Arsenal beat me today.’ There’s a pride, isn’t it because when you go to your old club, it’s quite an emotional thing and there’s a lot of pressure that comes with that.”
“You’ve got to prove now why I’m here and I’ve left you lot and I’m playing first-team now, this is why. So, that’s a big pressure and I thought he handled it really well. I think the manager’s comments saying that he’s sometimes almost too comfortable but I really like it and really positive about him will be really great for his confidence.”
Rio Ferdinand also feels Heaven’s decision to leave Arsenal in favour of a transfer to Manchester United has been vindicated as he is getting first-team football: “I think he’s been justified going to Man United at this point because he’s playing right now. Long term, I don’t know, long term, we don’t know.”
Ayden Heaven stats during Manchester United vs Arsenal
The youngster will likely be ecstatic upon hearing one of the biggest names in United history sing his praises.
Considering Rio Ferdinand left Leeds United to sign for Manchester United, he fully relates to Heaven in the respect of playing against your former side, which was Arsenal in the latter’s case.
But as the statistics showcase, Heaven looked the part against the Gunners.
| AYDEN HEAVEN STATS VS ARSENAL | |
| TACKLES WON | 1/1 |
| CLEARANCES | 3 |
| HEADED CLEARANCES | 2 |
| DRIBBLED PAST | 0 |
| DUELS WON | 3/5 |
The numbers don’t lie, with the highly-rated defender not being dribbled past even once, making five clearances in total and winning three out of his five duels.
Heaven looked impressively composed at the back, especially considering he had the difficult task of often covering plenty of ground to defend out wide.
However, the young man looks like a top talent and his latest heroics might be a reminder to Arsenal that they may have let go of a gem of a prospect.
