As a pundit, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane doesn’t dish out compliments too easily.
The Irishman has always demanded the highest of standards on the football pitch and he has brought that aspect of his personality into his punditry.
While I don’t always agree with what Keane says, especially when it comes to United, he is still one of my favourite pundits. His dry wit is second to none which explains how Keane has become such a success on The Rest is Football podcast.
Keane turned 53 on Saturday and ‘celebrated’ his birthday in typical fashion – covering a match for our entertainment. He raved about Alejandro Garnacho after the young forward came off the bench only to cause havoc amongst Man City’s defence.
The 20-year-old forward created a golden opportunity for Marcus Rashford after sliding an inch-perfect pass across the box, but the chance was wasted.
Garnacho eventually had a chance of his own after driving forward with the ball, cutting inside and sending the ball past Ederson into the bottom corner of the net.
Former Arsenal star Ian Wright wasn’t surprised that United looked more threatening when Garnacho came on.
“[Man United are] more direct when he plays,” Wright said on ITV, as quoted by The Mirror. “More energised.
“He seems like he is always trying to do something positive and he has got goals in him in big games.
“[When running at goal] he can see nothing else in his mind. He is looking to score.”
Of course, it was Garnacho’s second Wembley goal against City. His first came in May to help United beat Pep Guardiola’s side in the FA Cup final.
Keane agreed with Wright, adding: “[Garnacho does] what all the really good players do. The really, really good players impact the game. And every time he is on the pitch, he impacts it.
“When he comes onto the pitch, I kind of expect that of him now. You know he was going to create something.”
One of Garnacho’s biggest strengths is his unpredictably. You can see defenders struggling to deal with him most weeks and that will only become more evident as he develops his game.
Keane stressed that defenders are fearful of Garnacho.
“If you are a defender, you don’t want to mark him,” he said. “Because you know he is going to create problems.”
Garnacho was one of United’s star players last season and I fully expect that to be the case again this season. Hopefully, the Argentina international can add more goals to his tally!
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