Former Man Utd man likens revitalised Red Devils flop with Arsenal star Zinchenko
Former Man Utd defender Paul Parker has likened Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko after recent improved performances.
Wan-Bissaka looked like he was on his way out for most of the January transfer window with Premier League clubs reportedly lining up loan moves for the right-back.
After only making one appearance under Ten Hag before the World Cup break Wan Bissaka’s future at Man Utd looked bleak – but the 25-year-old has now played 12 matches since the return to club football.
And he is now a regular starter and key member of Ten Hag’s starting XI with Parker comparing him to Ukraine full-back Zinchenko at Premier League leaders Arsenal.
“Wan-Bissaka has definitely stepped up and he has raised his own bar,” Parker told MyBettingSites.
“He is not perfect at all but it looks like he has the willingness to do a really good job.
“He has been very brave and he reminds me a bit of Zinchenko. There are not a lot of English full-backs that can play the way he is playing.
“Ten Hag is in a really good position on that right fullback position. He has two really good players but it’s up to Diogo Dalot to reclaim his position.
“I think a lot of Man United fans would agree that there is no need to get a new right back. Wan-Bissaka and Dalot can do the job very well.”
Wan-Bissaka did come under fire for his defending for the Gunners’ first goal as Arsenal beat Man Utd 3-2 at the Emirates towards the end of January but Rio Ferdinand thought the criticism was harsh.
Ferdinand told his Vibe YouTube channel: “Gary Neville was the best at this as a full-back, he was the best at marking the opposite side when the ball was coming in so if their winger was crossing the ball, the Gary Neville gets himself inside the post so that anything that beats me, he’s going to get.
“But also he’s going to attach himself to that winger, get hold of them. Sometimes he’s not as big as those guys but they’ve got to do a lot to get away from them and he would just stand in their way.
“This [the Arsenal goal] is all about awareness and seeing that bigger picture and that comes from reps in training.
“For Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and all full-backs, it’s a really hard skill to master by the way. The way the guys were talking about it yesterday was like it was easy. It’s not easy.
“That is one way that 33-year-olds get unpicked at the end of their career when they are meant to know it back to front.
“It’s about being switched on and having concentration for the full 90. If you switch off in those moments, you get punished because you’re six yards out so it’s a goal.
“He has to attach himself. Feel him. Or he has got to turn and face, but that is the hardest thing to do, to do that and see the crosser and the man.”
READ MORE: Manchester United fans giddy about being kings again after Man City charges
