Evra aims needless dig at Arsenal’s Mertesacker while praising Man United star

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Manchester United legend Patrice Evra has aimed a needless dig at former Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker while praising Lisandro Martinez.

The Argentinian was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in the summer, but Ajax’s demands were a bit too much. We went and signed Oleksandr Zinchenko instead, and he has been brilliant for us.

Evra, predictably, has been more impressed by the Manchester United man, but we don’t understand why he has had to fire a few subtle shots at Mertesacker.

Evra aims needless dig at Arsenal’s Mertesacker while praising Man United star

Mertesacker joined us all the way back in 2011 and spent seven years as a Gunner. He played over 220 times for us and also more than 100 times for Germany, with whom he won the World Cup in 2014.

The BFG definitely had his flaws, but his football IQ as a defender was tremendous.

Martinez, still only 24, is a very good defender. After a lot of criticism at the start of the season, he has been impressing everyone with his aggressiveness, fighting spirit, and according to Evra, passing as good as Michael Carrick.

The Frenchman praised Martinez’s ability to pass the ball in between the lines. While doing so, he aimed a dig at Mertesacker by claiming he never passed the ball further than one metre.

Evra said on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel: “This is one of the best signings we’ve had for years at Manchester United. It’s because of his fighting spirit. That’s what United fans want to see – those players have to bleed for the shirt. People were talking about his height and I was laughing. Some people said I was too small when I arrived in the Premier League as well. When you play with that heart and passion, size doesn’t matter.

“When he gets the ball, he is so clean and composed. Mexico were pressing everywhere [during Argentina’s 2-0 win] but every time he got the ball he was calm and playing forward. That’s what I love. He doesn’t play those one-metre balls to the next player. This is easy.

“When I see those [Martinez’s] stats – I remember Per Mertesacker at Arsenal, the stats said he never lost the ball – but he was passing it one metre, I can do that every day. But Martinez puts the ball through the lines like Michael Carrick. That’s what he does and I love that. What a player, what a player.

“All the other aspects of his game are great. I remember speaking to Edwin van der Sar and other people at Ajax about him and they all said he was aggressive and tenacious but also great on the ball and can pass. Top defenders now need to have both sides of the game.”

So unnecessary

Martinez deserves praise for the way he’s playing, but Evra could’ve applauded him without bringing Mertesacker into the picture.

Yes, the German never really tried to pass the ball through the lines, but it’s important for Evra and everyone else to remember that he was never asked to do that.

A centre-back’s job over five years ago was to defend – not pick out the attackers with incisive passes. Mertesacker did that job as well as he could, and that’s why he won over 100 caps for Germany – a feat Evra did not manage with France back in the day.

The Manchester United legend’s comments were just so unnecessary, but we’re sure he’ll say something just as needless about someone else very, very soon.