Man Utd midfielder Nemanja Matic has been an integral member of the first-team squad under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho.
A lumbering six foot four defensive midfielder, check. Often overlooked for praise, check. Sometimes made the scapegoat when Manchester United fail to match expectations, check.
Not only do those three characteristics describe Nemanja Matic and his tenure at Old Trafford, but they can also be used to evaluate one of the latest first-team stars, McTominay
It’s often a thankless task being a top-flight defensive midfielder. When your team is performing well you are often identified as the key cog in a wider efficient machine, and when the mood drops they make an easy target for any side which is not quite getting it right in the centre of the park.
That said it is no surprise Matic was the midfield player most publicly criticised on social media after the weekend defeat to Arsenal despite similarly poor showings from teammates Paul Pogba and Fred
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took a risk restoring the Serbian international straight to the starting line up for the encounter on Sunday afternoon, opting for trusty experience ahead of the surprising tenacity shown by McTominay last week.
