“I don’t think he’s good enough” - Manchester United star who started vs Arsenal axed from national team as manager delivers verdict

Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee has been excluded from the Netherlands football team squad by manager Ronald Koeman for the clash against Spain in the quarterfinal of the Nations League. The match is scheduled to take place later this month.

Zirkzee joined Manchester United from Bologna last summer for a reported fee of €42.5 million. While he did make an immediate impact by scoring a last-minute winner on his debut against Fulham, he has since struggled to find his footing in the final third.

Adding salt to injury, the Dutch forward had an evening to forget in his last game for United, which was a 1-1 draw with Arsenal. To that end, he has been axed from the national team by Koeman for their upcoming fixtures against Spain.

Koeman, who was appointed manager of the Netherlands national team in 2018, said he didn’t include Zirkzee in the squad because he thinks he isn’t good enough at the moment. Ronaldo Koeman told Dutch TV show Studio Voetbal (via SPORTbible):

“He wasn’t in the preliminary selection because I don’t think he’s good enough at the moment. Especially scanning when turning or passing often goes wrong. Yes, in principle, form and fitness are always leading, but that is not always possible. We have a lot of central defenders and midfielders, but we are somewhat limited up front."

“But even then, I still think that you have to earn your selection, and I think he doesn’t deserve that now, but that could be the case again in another period," he added.

Joshua Zirkzee’s last goal for Manchester United in the Premier League came when he scored a brace against Everton in December.

In the ongoing campaign, he has scored six goals and provided two assists for the Red Devils in 42 appearances across competitions.

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Amad Diallo leaps to the defense of Manchester United teammate after Arsenal defender’s fake quotes – Reports

Manchester United and Arsenal shared the spoils (1-1) in the Premier League clash at Old Trafford on Sunday, March 9. Before the match, both sides had met in the FA Cup in January, with United getting past their rivals after a 5-3 win in the penalty shootout.

Before the FA Cup clash, Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes was reported to say he has "scored more than all of United’s forwards." However, according to Mirror, they were fake quotes.

After United secured a victory via penalty shootout, Amad Diallo, who is currently out of action, teased Gabriel by posting a meme of teammate Joshua Zirkzee waving to Arsenal fans.

As per Mirror, it was in response to a fake meme of Magalhaes being asked "Are you particularly scared of any United attackers you might face on Sunday?" with the Brazilian defender replying "I’m pretty sure I’ve scored more than all of them."