Anthony Martial vs Emil Forsberg – A Statistical Comparison
Manchester United were one of the most active clubs in the last couple of transfer windows but Jose Mourinho still does not seem completely happy with the options at his disposal and is still looking for players who can improve the squad in the near future. This has seen him get linked with some of the biggest names in Europe and one story that has been doing the rounds in the media is their interest in Emil Forsberg.
The 26-year old recently helped the Swedish national team to the World Cup finals and has been in decent form for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. He recently spoke out on Manchester United’s interest in his signature and revealed that he is currently only concentrating on the task at hand at the Red Bull Arena.
United seem desperate for his signature, especially due to the lack of a genuine winger in their side at the moment. French international Anthony Martial, who has 6 goals and 6 assists already this season, is one of the two options that Jose has at the club right now, with the other one being the phenomenal Marcus Rashford. However, both the players are strikers and Rashford’s long-term future seems to be up front, leaving Martial as the only viable option on the left wing.
Signing Forsberg would be a great decision as he’d provide competition to Martial, eventually helping Mourinho use Rashford as the striker. However, the decision has to be made as to whether it would be right to sign Forsberg and here is a comparison of the numbers registered by the versatile Swedish ace and the Manchester United man, which could give us an idea on whether Forsberg would be a good signing for Man United.
Forsberg has just 3 goals and 2 assists in as many appearances across all competitions as Martial and has not been as effective as the Frenchman in front of goal. However, comparing their numbers (in the domestic league) so far this season provides a completely different story.
Having played close to double the minutes that Martial has played this season, Forsberg has a passing accuracy of just 80%, compared to the 84% by Martial. However, the 26-year old has created 3.29 chances, with 3 key passes per game this season. In comparison, Martial has created 1.77 key passes and 2.36 chances in England this season.
Interestingly, Forsberg has a successful take-on rate of 62.50% compared to around just 60% by Martial, showing his ability on the wing. The Leipzig man has won 42.86% of his aerial duels (30% by Martial), 50.72% of his total duels (44.68% by Martial), winning 1.5 fouls per game. He also makes 0.6 interceptions per game, compared to 0.89 fouls won and 0.30 interceptions per game by Martial.
Lack of first-team game time may have hampered Martial’s chances to be more effective, along with the difficulty of playing in one of the toughest leagues in Europe but Forsberg, who is creating waves in the Bundesliga, has been a better player all-round, than Martial this season.
The £19.8m rated Forsberg will serve as a good addition to the squad at Old Trafford, and Mourinho should look to sign him in one of the next two transfer windows, once Zlatan Ibrahimovic moves and Rashford is pushed up front.
Stat credit: Squawka.com