West Bromwich Albion defender Gareth McAuley (L) holds off Manchester United striker Anthony Martial during a Premier League match at The Hawthorns in West Bromwich, central England, on March 6, 2016
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Dec 17- Manchester United striker Anthony Martial has expressed his frustration at being unable to cement his place in the starting line-up this season.
Martial has failed to replicate his form from last season, which was his first with United, and is slowly falling out of favour with manager Jose Mourinho.
As of right now, the 21-year-old has only started in seven of United’s 16 Premier League games and admitted that sitting on the bench is becoming “annoying”.
“It’s annoying to be on the bench, it’s truly annoying, but it’s a test you have to overcome and that’s how you progress,” he told SFR Sport. “It’s difficult because all you want is to be able to help the team and when you’re on the bench you can’t. But these are choices and you have to accept it.”
Martial’s move to the bench can also be attributed to United’s decision to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer.
With the Swede scoring goals and proving his worth, Martial’s job of breaking back into the starting XI is only going to get harder.
Despite this, he is determined to prove that he is still an asset to the Red Devils and added that he is turning a deaf ear to all his critics.
“People expect a lot of me, but sometimes they forget I’m still young,” he said. “Everyone can think what they want, it won’t change anything.”
Martial has represented United in 16 games in all competitions this season and has scored four times and notched up three assists as well.
