Rio Ferdinand has expressed his disbelief at what some say about Bruno Fernandes following Manchester United’s defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
Manchester United gave a much better account of themselves at the weekend. Certainly, Arsenal fans may have been nervous during the second-half that they may be denied the win which would have sent them back to the top of the Premier League table.
However, United were unable to turn their pressure into genuine chances, with David Raya being given very little to do during the 90 minutes. Whoscored shows that just two of Manchester United’s 14 attempts on goal went on target.
Of course, Erik ten Hag was unable to call upon Bruno Fernandes, with the Portuguese also missing the 4-0 loss to Crystal Palace on Monday.
Rio Ferdinand lauds Bruno Fernandes after Manchester United defeat
It would appear that United failing to score in the two games without Bruno has not come as a surprise to Rio Ferdinand, with the pundit telling FIVE that the last two performances make it abundantly clear just how important he is.
“Can I just say one thing, please look in my eyes please, all of you people who are saying Bruno out, again, I want humble pie eaten, because in the last couple of games, creativity has been a big issue for us. And without that man in our team, we don’t create noise, let alone chances. Trust me,” he said.
“So all these people who keep saying, ‘yeah but he’s not this, he’s not that’, the guy creates chances, score goals, but more importantly, creates chances for others, and makes other players look better. When he hasn’t played, every other attacking player has looked worse off.
“The moment he plays, they all look better because he’s getting in positions to score goals and have chances at goal. And it really winds me up massively when I hear people saying he’s rubbish, or he’s not or he’s not that.”
Remarkable statistic shows how crucial Portuguese is
Bruno has missed three Premier League games this season, and United have failed to score in each of those games.
It was alarming how blunt the United attack looked against Arsenal, particularly when the Gunners handed them the chance to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. The only thing David Raya seemed to have to do in those final moments was calmly catch overhit crosses into the box.
Bruno had scored seven goals in seven league games before his injury. His form over the course of the campaign has been far from perfect, but clearly, he is so much more important to United’s fortunes than many have been giving him credit for.