Since Donny van de Beek joined Manchester United from Ajax, he has been conspicuous by his absence in the Red Devils’ starting XIs.
For reasons known only to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Dutchman has been held in reserve for most of the games that have been played since the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign.
The attacking midfielder was handed an opportunity against RB Leipzig in the Champions League during the week and did well, however, it remains to be seen if the Norwegian includes him for the match against Arsenal.
Not that the continued apparent snubbing of his skill set will bother him one bit according to his national team manager.
“You don’t say I’m going to Manchester United for the money,” he said in quotes run by the Daily Express.
“He’s a young player who wants to play every week and would have been asking [the manager] what kind of role he saw for him in the coming years.
“That’s what has been made clear to him, otherwise he wouldn’t have made the step.
“A lot of other interesting clubs [Barcelona and Real Madrid] were also available to him.”
At just 23 years of age, van de Beek still has a long time left in the game, and patience now will reap rewards later.
It’s obvious to all that he has what it takes to succeed at the top level of English football, and sooner or later there’ll come a point when Solskjaer won’t be able to leave him out of the side.