Arriving with a reputation of having won the league in almost every country he’d been to, arriving after over fifty goals in a single campaign, the man as big as his ego, Zlatan Ibrahimović’s arrival to England’s giant Manchester United raised eyebrows as well as the hype everywhere.
The league started off on a blistering note for the Swedish legend, who bagged 4 goals in three matches with sublime finishes against Swansea, Southampton but then United’s campaign drained to levels which were unexpected. Zlatan’s easy misses and lousy touches with bad hold up play raised the simmering resentment against him and critics poured from everywhere, slagging him off for his age and his deteriorated footballing ability.
Ibrahimović has been an inspiring figure with each action of his portraying self-believe, drive and determination which is what is needed for a footballer to excel. The attacking football produced was good and over time only the draws were needed to be converted into wins.
35 and on the English soil where football is genuinely at its toughest, Zlatan Ibrahimović has silenced his critics once again. United’s football and it’s quality was constantly neglected due to consecutive draws but it always had that feeling of optimism and Zlatan, the striker that he is just cannot go without scoring. Even during a bad game, one moment of brilliance or a flash of quality has got him a goal.
In 16 Premier League appearances, the man has already passed the double figures mark and his improvement has landed him right amidst the heat of the race for Golden boot. Two added bonuses with all this have been his sublime hold up play with pacey football which has seen given him time to pick his passes and he has created 23 crucial chances according to squawka.com.
He has got 28 shots on target in 16 appearances with the shot accuracy exceeding the 50% mark which means that every one of his shot out of two hits the target which is an impressive figure for an attacker who is new to this league.
The ability of Zlatan to bag in goals even during the toughest of battles has seen him win over people. Having worked with Jose Mourinho already and with the attitude that he has, it makes the Swede easier to settle in Manchester and get a groove of the English game and he has done that extremely well.
He has cemented his place in the starting lineup having shrugged off the competition from within and his aerial ability adds a dimension not only in the attack but also in the defence. The massively looming presence provides a wave of assurance during set-pieces and his work rate too at this age has been commendable.
The Swede came down to his own side’s half to defend the direct attacking strategy when United were clinging to the lead against Tottenham and his massive clearances then were widely appreciated.
In spite of all the critics that existed then, Zlatan has managed to hammer the nails into the coffins of each argument that were made against him and with a long season to go, such impressive displays are widening his fame once again and the future looks bright indeed.
