Fact or Fiction: Does Martial warrant regular Manchester United starting spot?

Despite a superb showing in the 4-0 FA Cup win over Wigan, Anthony Martial’s performance did little to convince manager Jose Mourinho that he deserved to retain his starting spot for the following fixture. “He has done enough to be on the bench,” Mourinho said when asked if Martial will start against Hull in midweek. United laboured to a 0-0 home draw with the Tigers, in part due to Eldin Jakupovic's performance between the sticks, but lacked the cutting edge to put a crucial three points on the board, and not for the first time. 

Indeed, none of United’s starting front three – Marcus Rashford, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan – achieved a WhoScored rating above a 7 in the stalemate with the relegation candidates, despite having six of United’s 16 shots between them. Martial, though, was an unused sub in the draw as Mourinho opted instead to call on Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata from the bench in a bid to unlock the Hull backline. Against a defence that would undoubtedly sit back to frustrate United, Mourinho could have maxismised a player of Martial’s quality to punch a hole in the Hull defensive line. 

Only Paul Pogba (2.6) is completing more dribbles per 90 than Martial (2.2) of all United players this season, to reinforce a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘dribbling’ as he utilises his speed and athleticism to ghost past opponents. Granted, Mourinho is able to call on Mkhitaryan and Rashford who have this trait, but the pair have been somewhat ineffective of late. Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata, too, have seen their form drop off of late, whereas Martial has excelled. 

In the Frenchman’s last seven starts, he has scored four goals and registered a further three assists, though two of those came in the win over Wigan where he started as the lone frontman. Nevertheless, Manchester United boast a better win percentage with Martial starting (55.6%) than without him (42.9%) in the Premier League this season. With the loss percentage similar with (11.1%) and without him (14.3%) and the draw percentage increasing without Martial (from 33.3% to 42.9%), his influence has proven to be the difference between one point and three in England’s top tier this term. 

After a bright debut season in the Premier League, which yielded 11 goals and a further four assists, the platform was there for Martial to take the league by storm. Two assists in the opening weekend 3-1 win at Bournemouth suggested he was set to play a key part in United’s pursuit of a Champions League finish. Yet, for all of Martial’s work on the ball, it’s lackadaisical style off it that Mourinho finds concerning. Indeed, one of his two statistically calculated WhoScored weaknesses is ‘defensive contribution’, with Martial offering just 0.7 tackles and 0.2 interceptions per Premier League game this season. 

By comparison Mkhitaryan, who Mourinho says has to play despite struggling for game time early in his United career, averages 1.2 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game. This hounding of the opposition higher up the pitch is what Mourinho demands of his attacking players, which Martial often neglects. Given four of United’s eight team strengths focus on defending, it’s clear why Mourinho often overlooks the France star. 

Having made just four sub appearances as well, it seems as though Mourinho does not trust Martial to make an impact from the bench. Indeed, in the four Premier League games he’s featured as a substitute, he’s only managed to affect the outcome of a match once, that coming in a 1-1 draw with Stoke where he netted quickly after coming on. However, having been introduced against Chelsea when United were 3-0 down and ended up losing 4-0 and against Sunderland when his side were 2-0 up and went on to win 3-1, there has been little chance for him to ultimately change the outcome of the match. 

Against Manchester City, United were 2-1 down already and he had just nine minutes and injury time to haul his side back into the tie. Facing Stoke, though, he proved how effective he can be from the bench and it’s something of a surprise Mourinho opted against calling on Martial in midweek when United were pressing for an opening goal. Granted his ebject defensive contribution perhaps weighed on Mourinho’s mind, but with United enjoying 67.1% possession over the 90 minutes, his introduction could have been the difference between a draw and victory, though Phil Jones’ injury may well have forced Mourinho’s hand in this situation. 

The main question is whether he warrants a regular starting spot. Martial is a fine attacker out wide, but by shirking his defensive responsibilities, he only increases the risk of United being put under further pressure and for this reason he finds himself out of favour under Mourinho, at least for the time being. While these duties would be lessened when deployed as the lead striker, Ibrahimovic stands between the Frenchman and a regular starting spot as the focal point in attack, meaning Martial needs to either improve the defensive side of his game or bide his time for the chance to usurp the ageing Swede on the frontline and consolidate a first team spot.