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Erik ten Hag received some harsh criticism from Jadon Sancho after the Manchester United boss cited a reason for leaving the winger off the team for Sunday’s loss to Arsenal.
In a thrilling game at the Emirates, United fell to the Gunners in a 3-1 defeat.
Midway through the first half, despite the odds, Marcus Rashford gave the visitors the lead before Martin Odegaard gave Arsenal the equalizer.
Alejandro Garnacho’s late goal was disallowed for offside after United believed they had grabbed a winner.
Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus both scored late in extra time to give Arsenal the victory.
At the conclusion of the game, Ten Hag struggled to contain his rage, arguing that Garacho’s goal ought to have stood and that Rasmus Hojlund ought to have been given a penalty on his United debut.
He was also questioned about Sancho, who was left out of his matchday squad in favor of the young players Dan Gore and Hannibal Mejbri.
Sancho had been kept out due to problems in training, the Dutchman claimed. See the video down below.
“Jadon was [absent] on his performance on the training,” Ten Hag said.
“We didn’t select him. You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United and we can make choices on the frontline, so for this game he wasn’t selected.”
It is the latest setback for Sancho, who was left out of United’s first-team squad and made to train separately with coaches in the Netherlands for several months last season following Ten Hag’s arrival at Old Trafford.
Speaking earlier this summer, Ten Hag said he’d seen an improvement from Sancho and believed the England international had turned a corner.
“He has the skills,” Ten Hag said in July. “He has to show consistently that he can make a huge contribution. When you are a front player, end product is the key. So make sure you are making the key actions, the final pass and get your goals in.
“The rest has to be good as well [pressing and attitude]. That is your foundation and then you meet all the other standards that we expect. At this moment he is in a very good vibe. He decides how he is, how his mood and vibe is.
“He has a lot of energy, we have all seen that from the moment he came back. He wants to enjoy football and be successful.”
Sancho has since released a public statement on social media claiming Ten Hag’s comments are “untrue”.
“Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week,” he said.
“I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair!
“All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team. I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge.
“I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!”
