Shaw feels there has been far more scrutiny on Manchester United this season.
Manchester United defender Luke Shaw feels there has been more coverage of his side’s struggles this season than there has of Arsenal’s.
Shaw told the Daily Mirror that, with all due respect to Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, United’s season has brought more scrutiny with it despite the face they are higher up the league.
He said: “I’ve had to have a thick skin. Sometimes it’s easy for people to forget what I’ve actually been through. You need to have a thick skin to play football anywhere, but especially at the biggest club in the world here at United. Everyone’s watching and wants to have a go whenever you lose.
“They’re just waiting to criticise the moment anything goes wrong but that’s part and parcel of playing for United. No disrespect to Arsenal who are a fantastic club, but they’re not exactly having the greatest of seasons and it’s hardly mentioned. I find it quite funny that if it’s United, everyone criticises, but Arsenal don’t get a mention.”
Playing for United, especially in the age of social media, comes with a level of scrutiny which probably goes far beyond what most fans can even comprehend.
Shaw’s situation hasn’t been helped by the willingness of both Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho to throw him under the bus in public, especially over his weight and fitness.
That said, perhaps the likes of Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi would take umbrage with the idea that poor performances at Arsenal don’t get mentioned as much.
The treatment that some players who are perceived as underperforming at Arsenal and United get can be awful from some quarters and that toxicity needs to stop.
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