Marcus Rashford’s days at Manchester United are surely numbered – something that would have seemed unthinkable about a year ago, but could this be a major transfer window for Arsenal?
The England international was left out of Ruben Amorim’s squad for the Manchester derby at the weekend and has now come out and said publicly that is ready for a new challenge away from Old Trafford.
Although my fellow writer Charles Watts thinks not Rashford will go to Arsenalor that it would be a gamble worth taking, I take a different view – Jadon Sancho’s success at Chelsea shows that this could be a gamble that largely pays off.
Sancho was invisible for most of his time at Man Utd, but he quickly turned his form around under Enzo Maresca in a much more well-functioning Chelsea side. Even if he had his moments on loan at Borussia Dortmund last season, it’s fair to say that most Chelsea fans probably wouldn’t have picked him as a key signing of the summer given how badly he’s failed in the Premier League.
Arsenal ready to launch surprise raid for Chelsea star!
At his best, Rashford is probably the superior player, and certainly far more proven in the Premier League, while Arsenal are also probably a better team than Chelsea overall, even if the Blues are performing above expectations at the moment.
Rashford is far from the only top player competing in the circus that is modern-day Man United, so why should Arsenal fans write him off?
Marcus Rashford is exactly what Arsenal need – could save Gunners’ season
Arsenal are not out of the title race just yet, but back-to-back draws against Fulham and Everton have exposed what many have long suspected to be a weakness in Mikel Arteta’s side – a lack of spark in attack, whether that be big . on the left or in a center forward role.
Rashford can play both positions at a very high level. On his day, he’s a 25-plus-goal-a-season player, which is certainly more than Kai Havertz or Gabriel Jesus will ever be, and he can also terrorize outside-backs in a way he hasn’t Martinelli. has been going on for months.
As things stand, Arsenal struggle to break teams up because there is simply no Plan B unless things click between Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka on the right. Adding Rashford to the mix would bring more balance and could potentially make this team unbeatable.
It’s not that Arsenal don’t still dominate possession and create chances, but there are times during a long season when you need someone who can provide a moment of magic to break down defensively tenacious teams happy to play for a point.
Rashford has shown he can be that player time and time again in his career – how often have we seen him dance his way past defenders down the left before unleashing powerful and accurate finishes into the corner?
Marcus Rashford goals for Man United in all competitions
| Time | Goals | Games |
| 2019/20 | 22 | 44 |
| 2020/21 | 21 | 57 |
| 2021/22 | 5 | 32 |
| 2022/23 | 30 | 56 |
| 2023/24 | 8 | 43 |
| 2024/25* | 7* | 24* |
Of course, it hasn’t happened for the 27-year-old over the last year or so now, and that’s worrying, but Sancho has shown that bouncing back from life at Old Trafford is possible. As, to be fair, did the likes of Angel Di Maria and Romelu Lukaku, and even arguably Paul Pogba before his doping ban.
Signing outcasts from your rivals is always a bit of a risk, and Arsenal fans can point to Raheem Sterling as the perfect example of that, but he’s bigger and competing more for a place on the right-hand side, where you’re certainly not likely to get much look due to the presence of Saka.
Rashford could still have two or three of his best years ahead of him and looks like someone who needs a change of scenery after a whole career at a turbulent United with frequent changes of managers and players and one crisis after another.
Arsenal can certainly turn things around for Rashford, and he can do the same for them. Arteta et al. brave enough to roll the dice on this deal this January?
