Merson Claims He’d Have Anthony Martial In His Side Over Chicharito And RvP

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has stated that he would rather have Manchester United’s Anthony Martial in his Starting XI over both Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez.

With England international Wayne Rooney currently sidelined through injury, the 20-year-old France international is Louis van Gaal’s only recognized striking option at Manchester United.

Having claimed that the club have let go of some key players that would walk into their current first-team, the former English footballer Paul Merson does agree with the decision to let striker Robin van Persie leave the club in the summer.

“Anthony Martial is a good player and I’d have him over Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez, but he’s also low on confidence,” Merson said.

“Ultimately it comes down to the fact that the players are playing with shackles on them and a lack of confidence, which comes from the manager.

“I don’t blame the players for that, you can tell they’re a bag of nerves. Nobody is out there playing with confidence.

“United let Van Persie go at the right time. I’ve seen how he’s behaving at Fenerbahce. The manager was going round giving all the players high fives and he was just sat there looking like his six numbers had come in and he’d forgotten to back them.”

The veteran Dutch striker is currently struggling at his new club. Just five goals and eight chances created from 14 appearances is a relatively poor return for a striker that was bagging 26 Premier League goals just three seasons ago.

Last season, however, Van Persie scored just 10 goals from 27 league appearances, with a conversion rate of 15.2%.