FORMER MANCHESTER UNITED midfielder Paul Scholes believes the Red Devils’ season has been saved by Angel Di Maria’s red card against Arsenal.
The British-record signing was dismissed in the FA Cup sixth-round tie after pulling referee Michael Oliver, with United having won all four of their matches since including impressive victories over Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Louis van Gaal has left Di Maria on the bench since his return from suspension with the Dutch coach able to pick a settled starting XI for the first time in his tenure at Old Trafford.
And Scholes feels the Argentina international being given his marching orders against the Gunners has turned the club’s season around.
“I have been critical of my old club Manchester United under Louis van Gaal this season and I have to say that I did not see this change in fortune coming,” he wrote in his column for the Evening Standard. “To the extent that when they go to Chelsea on Saturday, I think they have a good chance of winning the game.
“When I look back on the key changes, I still feel that Angel Di Maria’s red card against Arsenal was critical in allowing Van Gaal to build this new-look team.”
The likes of Ashley Young and Marouane Fellaini – who many tipped to leave the club at the start of the season – have played a key role in United’s good form, with the 20-time English champions on course to qualify for the Champions League.
But Scholes feels another man who struggled for a starting place in Van Gaal’s early days at the club – Juan Mata – has been the most important member of the team in recent weeks.
“When I look at the side it seems to me to be a triumph of the underdog – Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini, Ashley Young. All of whom looked like they could be out the picture at the start of the season and are now having a big impact.
“For all the attention after the derby win over Manchester City on Fellaini and Young, a lot of the credit has to go to Mata.
“He has given United such composure. He is not a winger, in the conventional sense, but he comes inside and gets involved in the game. He always passes to a red shirt and he is so cool, as you saw with his finish against City.”
