Christian Eriksen is convinced a struggling Manchester United teammate can turn his fortunes around, while Wayne Rooney has offered sage advice on what the star must do to improve.
Man Utd held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw on Sunday and arguably created the higher quality chances. David Raya was on top form to deny Bruno Fernandes a second goal, while the Spaniard also made a fine stop to prevent Noussair Mazraoui from notching his first United goal.
Rasmus Hojlund – brought on from the bench in the 76th minute – was also in the thick of the action.
The misfiring Dane was too slow to act when allowing Declan Rice to produce a last-ditch tackle inside the area. Hojlund also saw a superb piece of near-post movement go unrewarded when a lunging Gabriel Magalhaes partially blocked the striker’s goal-bound effort.
The end result saw Hojlund extend his streak of matches without scoring to 20 across all competitions.
But speaking to Sky Sports post-match, veteran teammate, Christian Eriksen, insisted Hojlund “will come good.”
Furthermore, Eriksen suggested Hojlund’s teammates aren’t doing enough to lighten the load on the striker by chipping in with goals themselves.
Only three Man Utd players have scored more than three league goals this season – one of which is Marcus Rashford who left for Aston Villa on loan in January. The others are Fernandes (seven) and Amad Diallo (six), the latter of which is currently sidelined through injury.
“I am pretty confident that he will come good,” Eriksen told Sky Sports. “He is a hard-working guy and he is unhappy when he doesn’t score goals.
“But you can name about ten other players in the team who don’t score enough goals. He is a good kid, he will be fine.”
Unfortunately for Eriksen, he may not be around to see Hojlund come good, with the midfielder one of six players Man Utd aim to wave goodbye to at season’s end…
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Wayne Rooney’s advice to Rasmus Hojlund
Hojlund’s lively cameo was analysed by former United striker Rooney while appearing on Match of the Day 2.
“There was one chance where his shot was blocked after he had shown fantastic movement to get to the near post,” said Rooney. “To me that really showed how much he needs a goal right now, but all he can do is keep working.
“I’ve got faith in him. He’s a good player who works hard, which is really important. He needs that bit of luck as well, but once he gets a break then more goals will follow.”
Rooney added: “As a striker for Manchester United, when you are not scoring goals there is a lot of pressure and a lot of people questioning if you can do it for United.
“The best thing for Hojlund to do is simplify it. Making runs into the penalty box is as easy at it comes.
“When you are short of confidence you have got to make sure you make it into the penalty area and put yourself in a position where you can score, so that is something he can improve on.
“We are still waiting to see Hojlund find his feet for United, but it’s important to point out that the whole team have not been at their best.
“I feel for him from that point of view because, nine times out of 10, forwards rely on their team-mates for service.”
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