Ian Wright says he would “take” this disrespected Man United star at Arsenal
Arsenal legend Ian Wright has slammed the way Manchester United handled the Bruno Fernandes transfer saga over the summer, and says he’d take him at the Emirates Stadium.
The Portugal international has been a hugely important part of the Man Utd team in recent years, and it’s surprising that the club seemed open to letting him go.
Wright admits he’s surprised the Red Devils acted so indecisively on this, with the pundit telling the Overlap that they should have made it clear to Fernandes just how important he was to their project.
What’s Bruno Fernandes’ situation at Manchester United?
These claims by Wright follow Fernandes himself coming out and slamming the club for making him feel unwanted.
“I could have left in the last transfer window, I would have earned much more money, I was going to leave a season ago – I won’t say where – but I would have won many trophies that season,” he told Canal 11, as quoted by the Metro.
“I decided to stay, also because of family reasons, but because I genuinely love the club. The conversation with the manager also made me stay.
“But, from the club’s side, I felt a bit like, ‘if you leave, it’s not so bad for us.’
“It hurts me a bit. More than hurting, it makes me sad because I’m a player who has nothing to criticise.
“I’m always available, I always play, good or bad. I give my all. Then, you see things around you, players who don’t value the club as much and don’t defend the club as much… that makes you sad.”
Ian Wright slams Man United over Bruno Fernandes treatment
Wright clearly wasn’t impressed by how United handled this, and admitted he’d take Fernandes at Arsenal tomorrow.
One imagines the former Gunners striker isn’t the only fan of the north London giants who’d feel that way, with Fernandes clearly still a top performer in the Premier League and one of the few shining stars in this struggling United side.
“When you look at Bruno’s quotes, it comes back to Man United being indecisive. So someone comes in for Bruno Fernandes last summer… you shut that down,” Wright said.
“He didn’t want to go. Bruno is basically saying the club went, ‘it’s up to you if you want to leave’. That’s not what you want to hear when you’re the person who has basically held the club up by yourself.
“You want the club to say, ‘you’re not going nowhere, you’re a massive part of this’. But Manchester United didn’t do that.
“They gave him the option and said, ‘if you want to go, you can go’. What is that saying to him? I would take him tomorrow.”
Bruno Fernandes still hugely important for Man United
The stats below from FotMob illustrate just how important Fernandes still is for United, even if he isn’t getting any younger.
Fernandes still comes out on top for assists for MUFC, as well as being second for goals, and their highest rated player overall.
Overall, a record of five goals and seven assists from midfield remains as good as any player in the world will offer you in that position.
Wright will no doubt be happy seeing his old club Arsenal at the top of the table, but if there’s one kind of player Mikel Arteta’s side are lacking it’s an elite goal-scorer and playmaker from midfield.
Martin Odegaard used to provide that more consistently for the Gunners, but the goals have dried up for him in recent times, while he’s also had ongoing injury problems.
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