"The height of the last straw" "Make it make sense" - Manchester United fans react furiously as Cristiano Ronaldo is benched for Arsenal clash
Cristiano Ronaldo will start on the bench for Manchester United once again when they face Arsenal later today. The just-released lineup has shown that Erik ten Hag is prepared to start the game without the Portuguese forward, and the Old Trafford faithful are not happy about the situation.
Manchester United fans have taken to Twitter to voice their anger at the manager's decision, clamoring for Ten Hag to start Cristiano Ronaldo. Instead, the Dutch tactician has decided to work with Marcus Rashford as the striker, with Ronaldo sitting on the bench for the fourth game in a row.
Fans are also unhappy with former Real Madrid midfield midfielder Casemiro starting on the bench as well. Here are some tweets from angry United supporters across the globe:
@ManUtd @antony00 The height of the last straw https://t.co/Vx1t0hTgNh
@ManUtd @antony00 Ronaldo didn't catch up with our preseason so he clearly can't start while Antony also skipped preseason + Ajax's training for several days but he is fine to start????
Casemiro needs to adapt to the pl but Antony gets in the line up straight away????
make it make sense!!!!
@ManUtd @antony00 You donβt know what you have until itβs gone https://t.co/eTCHakYZpT
@ManUtd @antony00 So Antony can just walk into the Premier League with little-to-no preseason whilst Ronaldo and Casemiro either arenβt 'fit enough' or still need to 'adapt?'
@ManUtd @antony00 Benching ronaldo and casemiro for rashford and mctominay
This club has no shame
@ManUtd @Leafthegoat @antony00 BANTER FC
@ManUtd @antony00 where is ronaldo
The Portuguese maestro has not played a full match for the Red Devils since participating in the shameful 4-0 loss against Brighton. Rather than partake in the club's rebuild as a consistent member of the lineup, Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled to convince Erik ten Hag that he deserves to start more often.
Casemiro is another player who was widely expected to start against Arsenal, with the defensive midfielder yet to make his first starting appearance for the Red Devils. However, Ten Hag has opted to start Scott McTominay in a holding midfield position, with the 25-year-old helping United to two clean sheets in their last two games.
Cristiano Ronaldo will need to fight for a starting position at Manchester United
The clash against Arsenal will make it Ronaldo's fifth game starting from the bench this season, and clearly, the Portugal international will need to change Ten Hag's mind. He has been brought on as a substitute to finish games that the Red Devils are already winning, with Ronaldo playing just 48 minutes in his last three appearances combined.
This is a rather stark contrast from the previous season, which saw Cristiano Ronaldo start 27 Premier League games for Manchester United. The forward notably made just three appearances as a substitute last campaign, one less than he has made this season.
The United faithful will likely continue to clamor for the forward to start games, with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner spending minimal time on the bench in his career thus far.