Wayne Rooney has accused Manchester United stars of hiding behind their injuries to avoid criticism and leaving manager Erik ten Hag to face flak.
Ten Hag’s injury-hit side limped to another defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday as Leandro Trossard’s goal kept Arsenal’s title hopes alive.
But Rooney claimed some United players currently out of action are merely ducking out of the line of fire.
“Some of those players can play 100 percent,” said United’s record goalscorer. ‘Because they get a bit of a foothold it’s easy for players to stay out and get back to the FA Cup final and get themselves in the right place for the Euros.
‘I’ve seen it with my own eyes over the years. The injured players are not filling themselves with any credit at the moment and the manager is taking all the stick.
Wayne Rooney accused Manchester United players of not wanting to play for the club and feigning injuries
United’s torrid season continued on Sunday when they lost 1-0 to Arsenal at Old Trafford
Erik ten Hag’s side have been plagued by injuries, with the Dutchman having fourteen different central defenders to his name this season
‘I think the players really need to look at themselves because if you get your manager to do an interview and he talks about the attitude, and the attitude of the players that is not good to play for Manchester United, then that’s a huge insult.
‘When I see my manager saying that, I can’t possibly let that happen until the end of the season. And it seems like some players are just trying to make it to the end of the season.”
Speaking on Sky Sports, Roy Keane echoed Rooney’s thoughts, saying: ‘That’s obviously not a good sign. There are always a few players at every club who I think could suffer an injury.
“There are a lot of players who have injuries or a lack of confidence at certain stages of the season and are no longer there. They are in no rush to get back into the team.”
Ten Hag believes that the support from the fans shows that they appreciate United’s problems. “They understand where we are and where this club is,” the United boss said. “I think that’s why they’re with us. We are united and hopefully we can pay them back in the future.”
The win meant Arsenal will be in the title race on the final day of the season, regardless of Manchester City’s result at Tottenham on Tuesday night.
Marcus Rashford (second right) is one of a number of United players who missed the match against Arsenal
Captain Bruno Fernandes (left) and midfielder Mason Mount (right) were also absent from the match
Manager Mikel Arteta said: ‘Today we wanted to knock on that door and open that box of dreams and play in front of our people with a chance to win the Premier League on the last day.
“Some players haven’t been in this position, they don’t know what’s at stake and how you feel emotionally having to win and win and win from December or January onwards. It’s a phenomenal thing they’re doing.”
Kai Havertz, who scored Trossard’s only goal in the 20th minute, will now hope Arsenal’s rivals Spurs can take points from City and open the door for the Gunners to lift the title to Everton at home on Sunday.
‘I’m going to be Tottenham’s biggest fan ever!’ Havertz said. ‘Let’s hope for the best. We have one game and we need the whole club behind us – anything is possible.”