Ole Gunnar Solskjær believes Marcus Rashford can be a goal machine for Manchester United, with the interim manager “battering” the striker to score as many as Romelu Lukaku does in practice.
United travel to Arsenal on Sunday, opponents against whom Rashford marked his Premier League debut three years ago by scoring twice in a 3-2 victory at Old Trafford. On Wednesday the 21-year-old registered a memorable late penalty against Paris Saint-Germain to send United through to the Champions League quarter-finals, his 43rd strike in 159 appearances, and Solskjær is confident he can increase the ratio.
Asked if Rashford can be prolific the Norwegian agreed and said: “I keep battering him with it that he should also score as many goals as Rom after training sessions [are] finished. He should always get those simple tap-ins, finishes – like Rom’s scored in the last few games.”
Solskjær pointed to how Cristiano Ronaldo developed his goalscoring over the course of his career. “Rashy’s goals sometimes are worldies but you see improvement, maturity and the change in Cristiano’s goals from when he was young to now. He scores more from inside the box and that’s what Rashy has to improve on. He’ll get five to 10 extra goals from it.”
United’s record goalscorer is Wayne Rooney with 253. Asked if Rashford can be a one-club man and have a chance of challenging that milestone Solskjær said: “That would be fantastic. We all know the legends we’ve had at this club that have stayed here for so long and have been one-club players. We hope Rashy is going to be one of them. If he keeps producing he’ll stay in the team.
“He’s still only 21 so you don’t expect the consistency yet in all his play, but he’s always got that quality. His finishing, his striking of the ball, his attitude, that’s always going to be with him.”
On the speculation of getting the manager’s job full-time, which intensified after the win in Paris, Solskjær said: “Of course, I love managing these boys, I love working here. As I said so many times, I am just doing the best I can every single day, and if and when it comes to a decision to be made, we’ve got to think about that.”
Solskjær will have Anthony Martial available against Arsenal after a groin injury, with Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera also having a chance of making the squad.“We’re all right. Arsenal played 24 hours later than us [in the Europa League] and, of course, it will be tougher for them, so we’ll be ready for Sunday, definitely.”
Solskjær oversaw United’s win over PSG without 10 frontline players yet never complained once in the buildup. He indicated where his positive approach comes from.
“That’s in my upbringing, where I come from,” he said. “I remember smashing my cheekbone playing a reserve team game and I’ve got my diary [still at] home and two days after I wrote: ‘What opportunities does this give me?’ Because I couldn’t do any physical contact but I could do loads of physical work, fitness work, running, finishing, all those little things that have always been with me. I don’t know any other way to approach things [than be positive].”
Rashford’s penalty was awarded following a VAR intervention after Diogo Dalot’s shot struck Presnel Kimpembe. On Friday Uefa moved to clarify why Damir Skomina, the referee, made the decision.
The governing body said in a statement: “The VAR, after checking various different angles available recommended to the referee an on-field review following the penalty area incident. Given that the referee did not recognise the incident clearly during live play an on-field review was conducted.
“Following the on-field review, the referee confirmed that the distance that the ball travelled was not short and the impact could therefore not be unexpected. The defender’s arm was not close to the body, which made the defender’s body bigger thus resulting in the ball being stopped from travelling in the direction of the goal. The referee, therefore, awarded a penalty kick.”