Former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs has explained the perfect advice for one “exciting” star at Old Trafford to solve his biggest issue.
Manchester United have struggled significantly in the attacking areas of the pitch this season and goals have been hard to come by for many of the forwards.
Alejandro Garnacho has been finding difficulties in terms of consistency across the campaign, and has been very wasteful in periods.
The Argentine does have 19 goal contributions this term, which seems like a respectable output for a young winger. Although, in the Premier League, he has just five goals and one assist.
His biggest problem since coming through the ranks has been decision-making. He is often able to get into good positions in the final third but either makes the wrong pass or shot.
Giggs offers assessment on Garnacho
Ryan Giggs is one of the best wingers to play for the club and has been asked his assessment on Garnacho. The Welshman believes that he is an “exciting player” but thinks that his problems stem from not having the right relationship with his teammates.
“He’s an exciting player, he likes to risk, he likes to take players on, as soon as he gets the ball his first thought is to attack the full-back, which I like,” Giggs told Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel.
“As wingers, young players, you have dips but also, what targets does he have in front of him? You know, I used to have a Teddy [Sheringham] or Eric [Cantona] or a [Andy] Coley running in behind, a Ruud [van Nistelrooy] running in behind.
“I always had options, I had a pass in front and a pass in behind. He probably doesn’t have them options because there’s only one centre-forward and then you have to build the relationship quickly.”
Of course, Garnacho certainly doesn’t have the top options of United’s previous teams but it still often seems like he struggles to link up with a lot of them.
Giggs explains perfect advice for Garnacho
Everyone speaks about Garnacho needing to improve his decision-making, but that comes from his lack of understanding with teammates.
Giggs was asked what advice he would give to the 20-year-old to try and improve his wing-play, and he stated that the player needs to have a better picture of where his teammates will be on the pitch when he has the ball at his feet.
The 51-year-old explained that it is hard for a winger, who is running at full speed, to figure out what to do with the ball on the spot. They need to have an idea of where there teammates will be.
“When you’re in the crossing positions, what is your mindset? So if you’re on the edge of the box, what’re your options – is it a one-two, is it a cutback, a little cross into the back post,” continued Giggs.
“I knew where everyone was running so… I already knew where I was putting the ball. You know, you’re running at full speed, your head is down, you’ve got a defender up you, but you already know what you’re doing.
“You can’t think, ‘what am I gonna do now?’ – alright, the ball’s taken off you. So you have already got an idea, where you are on the pitch and what you’re going to do with it.”
It is no secret that Garnacho needs to improve his decision-making, it is a huge issue for him at the moment. But in order to do that, it seems to be more about him learning about his teammates and where they will be, rather than simply improving his own actions.
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