Antony explains Erik ten Hag-left back drama during Manchester United loss

Antony has opened up on why he seemed infuriated when Erik ten Hag instructed him to play at left-back while Manchester United lost to Arsenal.

Antony‘s time at Manchester United has not gone as many had hoped since his high-profile arrival in 2022. Reunited with Erik ten Hag during the manager’s first summer at Old Trafford, Antony was brought in for a hefty fee of around £85 million just before the transfer window closed.

Despite initial scepticism about the price, he made an immediate impact, scoring crucial goals against Arsenal, Everton, and Manchester City.

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However, his form quickly tapered off as opponents figured out his reliance on his left foot, leading to a drop in effectiveness. As Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo began to shine, Antony found himself losing his spot in the team.

It got to a point towards the end of last season where Ten Hag asked Antony to play at left back despite the team losing against Arsenal at Old Trafford.

During that moment, a clip went viral where Antony seemed to be visibly upset with Ten Hag and his instructions, which did not go down well with the club’s fans.

Speaking to journalists while in Los Angeles during pre-season, Antony addressed the moment, explaining that his frustration was only borne out of wanting to help the team in attack.

“I played full back and was a little uneasy about it but that was because with the team losing or drawing you want to be in the attack to turn things around and help the team,” Antony told reporters.

“So being moved into defence bothered me a bit; you feel annoyed in the moment during the game, but afterwards, it’s all fine. It’s absolutely no problem to make sacrifices for the team, as I said before the important thing is United winning.”

Further, Antony explained that he has “tremendous affection” for Ten Hag because the Dutch manager understands his roots.

“I have tremendous affection for the coach, as he well knows, and he has a lot of affection for me. Whenever we talk, he always mentions my roots in the favela because he knows – not everything – but a bit about what I’ve been through and overcome. I am really grateful to him. He’s a great coach and he knows he can rely upon me.”

Contuniung about the favela dubbed “little hell” that he grew up in, he said: “A lot of people don’t have this understanding of where you come from, what you’ve overcome. You come from nothing and now have practically everything with such ease – it’s difficult to deal with all of this.

“You go from not having enough to eat. I didn’t have a bedroom when I lived in the favela – I slept on the sofa in the living room, my house would flood when it rained heavily.

“I don’t use it as an excuse for my performances as I demand a lot of myself to always be playing well. But these are things that people don’t see, what we went through and suffered before.”

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