Juan Mata Is A Victim Of The Attacking Midfielder Position
Juan Mata has often been the player to be sacrificed in order to fit others into the United XI. Does he not deserve to play where he feels most comfortable?
When Mata was signed from Chelsea, United fans went wild. They knew they were getting an incredible talent, not to mention one of football’s nice guys. The Spaniard had previously shown what he’s capable of against the Red Devils themselves and so there was plenty of excitement.
It’s also possible that his arrival to United in a helicopter helped stir up even more giddiness amongst the fans. Everyone immediately looked over to Mourinho, then Chelsea manager, as if he were mad for selling a man capable of influencing games with ease.
So why does it feel like Mata hasn’t become as important to the United team as previously anticipated? Many expected the team to be built around him. The creative midfielder was capable of scoring as well as assisting so why the struggle with his position?
First of all, let’s get this out of the way- Mata is a number 10. No matter what Louis Van Gaal has said or no matter how many times he seems to do a job out wide in the right wing. The Spanish playmaker is simply best just in behind the striker, not stuck out wide forced to use his lack of pace against a winger and fullback.
Quite often, he continued to do what was natural to him anyways and drifted inside causing congestion as well as a lack of width. Despite all this, Mata was still capable of playing decently, such as the game against Liverpool at Anfield.
However, it’s simple, Mata has had his best games in a United shirt playing in his natural position in attacking midfield. So why is it that he rarely gets a game there? Everyone can admit both Mata and United play better when he’s in that position so it doesn’t make sense.
Mata is a victim of bigger reputation players and managers shoehorning all of United’s so called best players into one XI in the hopes of a result. What they should be doing rather, is play everyone in their natural positions at the expense of dropping players since forcing them all in doesn’t help anyways.
No sane person would claim that Rooney is a better alternative to Mata in the attacking midfield position. Yet managers have their hands tied in having to play their captain whilst also playing a capable striker up top. This, unfairly, forces Mata out wide.
One of United’s biggest issues aren’t tactical or the quality of players but rather managers trying to force all the biggest players into an XI that simply doesn’t bring the best out of all the individuals involves. Rather it helps some and sacrifices the others.
All of Mourinho, Moyes and Louis Van Gaal are to be blamed for this. The difference is that Mourinho has actually recognised this problem and had the guts to drop his captain in order to achieve better results from a more fluid team.
More from Red Devil Armada
- Aaron Wan Bissaka out for ‘several weeks’ with injury
- Manchester United break an unwanted record after Brighton loss
- Sofyan Amrabat set to miss game against Brighton
- Preview: Manchester United vs Brighton – What you need to know
- Jadon Sancho set to train away from first team squad
Football is simple- play players in their correct positions and they’ll perform better. The trouble is that all this politics gets in the way and players like Mata become sacrificed. It’s a credit to Mata that he’s still played ok out wide and hasn’t complained about it, even though he has every right to.
What do you think? Is Mata a victim of his position or has he been fairly treated? Do United play better with him in his natural position or are United’s troubles deeper than that? Let us know in the comment section below!!