Theo Walcott believes cunning forwards will keep exploiting Luke Shaw's 'weakness' following Roy Keane's brutal assessment of the beleaguered Manchester United defender. Shaw and his team-mates endured a torrid Manchester derby on Sunday as City cruised to a commanding 3-0 victory.
The left-back, deployed as a left-sided centre-half, was left trailing by Jeremy Doku before failing to track Phil Foden, who headed in the opener. The England international was then easily brushed aside by Erling Haaland for the second goal. Shaw faced withering condemnation from Keane, who declared the 30-year-old had been "getting away with murder for years" while questioning his fitness levels. The Old Trafford legend said: "Shaw, for the first goal. So Shaw is an international footballer. For him to get caught out like that...
"I think Shaw has been getting away with murder for years at United. Always injured, never quite fit. We make excuses and then he gets a few games under his belt and then he's making decisions like he doesn't even want to tackle people."
Ex-Arsenal striker Walcott, who played against Shaw, showed greater compassion for his predicament, maintaining he will continue being targeted by elite forwards like Haaland while operating away from his main position.
He instead questioned Ruben Amorim's approach, which he suspects has left players such as Shaw bewildered. Walcott told the It's Called Soccer! show: "When I look at someone like Luke Shaw, who's an outstanding full-back... I've played against this man, he's an England international for a reason, one of the best full-backs I've ever played against.
"And I've played against your Ashley Coles, your [Patrice] Evras. He's up there physically because he knows what he's doing at left-back because he's played there for so many years."
Pointing out the pitfalls of playing Shaw out of position, he added: "[When] You put him at centre-half, smart players like Erling Haaland are going to play on that weakness. And there's weaknesses all around there, players that aren't comfortable and aren't aware of their surroundings.
"They're second to everything, there's a delay in everything because they're unsure. I would be as well."
Despite the challenges, Walcott believes United should stick with Amorim for now, having invested heavily in the squad during the transfer window. He said: "For me, it doesn't work but they have to stick with him because they've gone this far, that's the problem."
Amorim's team, currently 14th in the Premier League after a single win from their first four matches, host Chelsea in Saturday's 5.30pm kick-off.