“I was surprised…” – Former Man United star responds to Antony debut against Arsenal

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Antony has been praised for a memorable debut as he scored in Manchester United’s 3-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday.

The Brazil international had only just joined Man Utd from Ajax, but made an instant impact as he went straight into Erik ten Hag’s starting XI and scored a well-taken opening goal against the Gunners.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside, former Red Devils midfielder Luke Chadwick admits he was surprised that Ten Hag was ready to start Antony straight away, considering he hadn’t had long to train with the team after completing his move.

“I was surprised to see Antony start the game, but it was obviously the right decision. His goal was a lovely finish from a free-flowing move,” Chadwick said.

“He’s a confident player, but it’s an added boost for him to make such a good start and get the crowd on his side. He had some moments of quality throughout the game – flashes of skill, created some chances.

Antony opened the scoring as Man Utd beat Arsenal

“It’s a bit of a change to what we’re used to at United in that we’re now playing with two inverted wingers. We’ve now got Sancho, who’s right footed, playing on the left, and obviously Antony, who’s left footed, playing from the right, and it means there’s more of an emphasis on the full-backs getting forward. Dalot did that well yesterday, and Malacia is a really attack-minded full-back as well.

“Antony couldn’t have hoped for a better start. He won’t have been training with the team for that long, but then again I’m sure he knows the style that Ten Hag plays really well, and that’s why he got straight in the team.

“I think we can look forward to a really exciting season with Antony.”

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