Ruben Amorim has had a poor start to life at Manchester United.
The Portuguese gaffer has taken Manchester United to new lows as they currently sit 14th in the Premier League table, while they’re also out of both cup competitions domestically.
| Position | Team | Played MP |
Won W |
Drawn D |
Lost L |
For GF |
Against GA |
Diff GD |
Points Pts |
 |
28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 34 | 40 | -6 | 34 |
Amorim has been questioned on a number of occasions since taking charge at Old Trafford, but he’s always maintained that the players need time to learn his system.
Speaking on BBC 606, Robbie Savage has been discussing how this United team works and operates, and he says that he’s baffled by how Christian Eriksen was used in this system at the weekend, claiming that he’s never been suited to that left-sided number 10 position in his career.
Robbie Savage baffled by Christian Eriksen positioning
Savage spoke about United’s system and how certain players are working.
The pundit was baffled by Alejandro Garnacho playing on the right wing, while he couldn’t make sense of the decision to use Christian Eriksen on the left either.
“If you’re going to play the youngsters, you see on the bench, Darren Fletcher’s son, there are youngsters on the bench, but in the 3-4-3, or whatever you’re going to call that shape, the 3-4-2-1, I don’t understand. Garnacho plays on the right of the two 10s, right? And all his movements as a youngster has been on the left-hand side, cutting in on his right,” Savage said.
“Yes, he sets up the goal for Zirkzee, against Sociedad with the pull back. But from that right-hand side, he’s not scoring from the left, but he’s much, much, much more of a threat in that shape, in the left 10, yeah? Going out to the left-hand side with the wing back, when Dorgu plays, going into the 10.
“It’s much more balanced in that. Garnacho, from the right-hand side, if you watch it, Chris, he doesn’t look a threat from that side. Yes, he’ll assist like he did against Sol Shaddad.
“But the balance of the team with Dalot as the left, when has Eriksen ever been a left 10 in that team? I don’t get it. I don’t get it, Chris.”
Christian Eriksen stats vs Arsenal
Savage says that he was baffled by Eriksen’s role against Arsenal, and the player himself also looked lost during this game.
Indeed, Eriksen barely made anything happen against Arsenal, and his stat sheet from this game was poor to say the least.
| Christian Eriksen stats vs Arsenal | |
|---|---|
| 0 | |
| Key passes | 0 |
| Dribbles | 0 |
| Shots on target | 0 |
No shots, no key passes and no dribbles tells the whole story, Eriksen was completely ineffectual as an attacking force against Arsenal.
Simply put, Eriksen doesn’t suit Ruben Amorim’s style of play, but with the United manager unwilling to change his system to suit his squad, there may not be much of a future for Eriksen at Old Trafford.
Eriksen’s contract is up this summer, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if United decided to let the 33-year-old depart on a free transfer.
