Rio Ferdinand has spoken highly of one particular Manchester United star after the club’s opening day defeat against Arsenal. He brought “something different” to Ruben Amorim’s side.
Manchester United’s opening day had been eagerly anticipated by their fans, with everyone involved at the club hoping to put last season’s woes behind them.
Having finished 15th in the Premier League last campaign, the only way was up for Ruben Amorim’s side. They hosted Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal on the opening Sunday of the season.
Arsenal came out as 1-0 victors at Old Trafford, but it wasn’t all misery for the Red Devils, who have a lot of positives to take away from the proceedings.
Despite losing the fixture, United looked bright and accumulated 22 shots. Amorim’s side have become only the second team to achieve as many shots as this against the Gunners in the Premier League since the start of the 2022/23 season.
Ferdinand sings Mount’s praises
United started an almost entirely new front three, with fresh acquisitions Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo both impressing on their debuts. Alongside them was Mason Mount, who Rio Ferdinand spoke highly of after the game.
On his YouTube channel, after the game, the legendary centre-back highlighted the key takeaways from the match, and included how Mount can bring ‘something different’ to United’s side.
Ferdinand said, “I really like what I saw from Mason Mount today. Again, in and out of possession. We all know what he can do in and around the box. He can score goals, he can create as well, but he’s out of possession.
“His ability and his intelligence to move and to run when we have the ball, when we don’t have the ball, I think is something that’s different to everything else we’ve got.
“That’s why you’re going to see him play games, because he does bring something different.”
Amorim’s selection headache
With Amorim playing a very unique 3-4-2-1 system, there isn’t an obvious position for the likes of Mount, Bruno Fernandes, or even Kobbie Mainoo to slot into.
United’s side undoubtedly includes many highly talented individuals, but getting the best out of each of them may prove to be difficult.
Now that the Reds have a new striker in Benjamin Sesko, as well as two new 10’s in Cunha and Mbeumo, the aforementioned trio may be left to battle it out for the two spots in the pivot.
Hopefully, Amorim can figure it out in the coming weeks, and we get to see the best out of the likes of Mainoo, Mount, Fernandes, and even Amad, who clearly have so much talent to showcase.
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