Why Zlatan Makes Sense at United

In his own words, he wen't to PSG a king, and left a legend. It is hard to argue with Zlatan Ibrahimovic's latest arrogant remarks, not that one would want to argue with the 6' 5" Swede for that matter. Every club that Zlatan has played for has won their respective league title during his temporary local stardom, and now with reports coming out today that he is on the verge of signing with Manchester United, the current Justin Beiber of British soccer (just give that analogy a minute to set in...), Manchester United supporters might just have something to be cheerful about.

With the arrival of the self-proclaimed "special one," Mr. Mourinho, United head into the 16/17 premier league season with new hope. The past three years have seen the club slip from a formidable European powerhouse, to a second rate side that love to splash the cash on short term dreams and foolish investments (*cough *cough that tall tree with an afro). The only good that has come out of the Moyes and Van Gaal era has been the emergence of promising youth, the highly doubted Anthony Martial and the pre-pubescent Marcus Rashford in particular. However, the potential reforming of the partnership of Mourinho and Zlatan finally looks like a formula that could see the Red Devils once again challenge for the Premier League title.

So what does the great Zlatan bring to United?

First of all, he brings a wealth of experience and leadership. As mentioned before, he has managed to win a league title with every team that has had the pleasure of entertaining him (as he would probably like to put it). This is a record that simply cannot be disputed. The man knows how to win league titles. With this being said, he will also provide a great deal of guidance to the likes of Martial, Rashford and Lingard. These three youngsters had fantastic seasons for the club, scoring 17, 8, and 6 goals respectively in all competitions. However, under the tutelage of a player like Ibrahimovic, these three can really develop at a much more natural pace, rather than simply being thrust into the caldron week-in week-out as they were this past campaign.

Tactically, Ibra completely changes the game for United. This past season in particular, United lacked any real form of a target man upfront (Don't try to tell me Fellaini is anything close to a top-flight target man, he closer resembles a head of broccoli than an athlete). The two players who had the potential to play in that role were sent out wide under Van Gaal's "philosophy," leaving the opponents penalty area free of red shirts on a far too frequent basis. Even when United surged forward, they relied heavily on their wide players to simply cut inside and have a shot (an amazing tactic when you think of how much Wayne Rooney improved his heading ability in the later seasons of Sir Alex's reign). The addition of Zlatan will provide United with the ability to play as they did with the likes of Van Persie and Van Nistelrooy upfront, leading to free-flowing and attacking soccer down the wings.

Lastly, Zlatan brings a mojo that United have lacked since the departure of Sir Alex from the sideline at Old Trafford. It used to be that teams were terrified of coming to this stadium that had such an aura of confidence around it, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Eric Cantona and David Beckham staring down at you as you took the pitch. Now, Old Trafford is seen as a potential for three points every weekend for teams even fighting for relegation. Ibrahimovic himself possesses this same aura, and will hopefully pass this on to the rest of the squad as well, creating a far more cutthroat atmosphere at the Theatre of Dreams. His arrogance is his best quality, and it will drive United out of the shadows and back into the forefront of European soccer.

I am not saying by any means that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the long term solution at Old Trafford. In my opinion, the long term solution is already present, and it is the one positive imprint Van Gaal has left at the club; the youth breaking into the first team. However, in order for Rashford, Lingard, Martial, Borthwick-Jackson and Andreas Peireira (just to name a few) to take the reigns at United, they need the experience and personality of a Zlatan character to drive them.

He went to PSG a king, he left a legend. He will come to United a legend, and leave a God.

PHOTO CC: Ibrahim.ID

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