Aaron Wan-Bissaka's comeback has been one of Manchester United's season's most captivating plotlines.
Wan-Bissaka, who was acquired from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2019 for the opulent sum of £50 million, has had trouble persuading United followers of his abilities as a contemporary full-back.
While Wan-Bissaka's defensive prowess has never been in question—no winger in the nation enjoys facing the 25-year-old's tarantula legs and adhesive-strength marking—observing his contribution to attacks was more unpleasant than the ordinary colonoscopy.
There has, however, been growth in this area, as evidenced by his George Best-like dribble in the January derby victory over Manchester City, which was met with a great deal of skepticism.
And Wan-Bissaka picked the national stadium's atmosphere and a nail-biting FA Cup semifinal match against Brighton to showcase his transformation into the modern Stanley Matthews.
When the United full-back gained possession just inside Brighton's half and decided to act as a laxative for their jittery defense, the game was tied.
Before leaving Pervis Estupinan choking on dust, Wan-Bissaka moved the ball to his right and held off Alexis Mac Allister with a display of strength that would have made Popeye appear like a stick-limbed Warhammer enthusiast.
Estupinan's struggle, however, was far from ended. The Ecuadorian, who had naively scrambled back to dislodge the United defender, was taken aback by a display of sorcery that was typically only seen in Severus Snape's classroom.
Wan-Bissaka confounded his opponent with a series of absurd step-overs before pulling off a Strictly-winning side-shuffle to get away from him.
His cut-back led to the discovery of Antony, whose subsequent attempt to set up Casemiro resulted in a mouthwatering scramble that wouldn't be out of place on Hackney Marshes. It also stood in stark contrast to the elegance and ingenuity of Wan-Bissaka.
This season, Wan-Bissaka has been the subject of a lot of transfer rumor, with reports circulating that Erik ten Hag plans to sign a right-back this summer and release the former Crystal Palace player.
"It has been my intention to stay but during that period (out of the team) my aim was just to play, everyone loves playing and it makes me happy,” Wan-Bissaka told The Telegraph about the constant speculation over his United future.
“During that time I would do anything to play again. I am happy here, I have been happy since I’ve joined and that is what I worked for and what I continue to work for.”
Wan-Bissaka has made every start for United in the 2022–23 season since the World Cup break, and he has expressed support for the team's goal of finishing the year with further trophies and Champions League qualification.
“That was our aim, to get the top four, and that is our target. We have had some injuries which were not good news to us but at the same time there is nothing we can do. The best thing we can do is stick together and get as far as we can.”
Wan-Bissaka will be hoping to work himself into Erik ten Hag's plans for next season as United limps to the finish line with the remaining aims being Champions League qualification and defeating City in the Cup final.
If he keeps producing the X-rated garbage that on Sunday pleased our senses, it won't hurt his chances.
Wan Bissaka wins duel against Koaru Mitoma
Aaron Wan-Bissaka's 90 minutes by numbers vs. Brighton:
100% take-ons completed (4/4)
100% ground duels won (6/6)
100% tackle success (2/2)
7 x possession won
0 x dribbled past
0 fouls
His stats vs. Kaoru Mitoma during that time:
◎ Tackles made: AWB 2-3 Mitoma
◉ Take-ons attempted: AWB 4-3 Mitoma
◉ Take-ons completed: AWB 4-0 Mitoma
◉ Dribbled past: Mitoma 1-0 AWB
Luke Shaw and Erik Ten Hag hails Man United's penalty ethics
Luke Shaw thinks Manchester United's players did not provide enough against Sevilla based on their remarkable fitness levels in their win against Brighton in the FA Cup semifinal.
Erik ten Hag was upset and outraged at how United lost to Sevilla on Thursday night, which meant a response was needed against Brighton, although the match was expected to be difficult.
Brighton has had a strong season, and they presented a challenging challenge throughout the game at Wembley. The Seagulls had their fair number of opportunities, but United also had its moments in the box without scoring.
But with neither team able to break through, extra time was quickly followed before penalties were ultimately needed. Victor Lindelof was the player who successfully converted from the penalty spot to win the game as the shootout reached sudden death.
Amazingly, United scored on all seven of their penalty kicks, and Shaw spoke with MUTV about the victory after the shootout. The defender appeared to be happy about the victory but also made a suggestion that the player didn't give everything against Sevilla.
"I think I'd have rather been in the first half of the penalty takers," he said. "It's never nice waiting and waiting, knowing your time is soon. I was confident anyways, if I had to step up, I thought I'd score, but luckily enough, Victor [Lindelof] put it away.
"He won it for us. We've practised them a lot in training and Victor has a beautiful technique. When he was stepping up, I was confident he wouldn't miss. I think so [fitness levels good] and maybe that shows on Thursday night we didn't do enough.
"I think that was clear to see, but we knew we had to bounce back and that competition, the Europa League, was so important to us and we lost it ourselves, but we obviously want the FA Cup too and this was a big game against a good side.
"We had to give everything today and I'm really happy for the team that we're in another final."
Meanwhile, David de Gea, Jadon Sancho, and Marcus Rashford all contributed significantly to ensuring Manchester United's place in the FA Cup final, and Erik ten Hag commended their moral integrity.
De Gea recovered from a terrible performance in the Europa League quarterfinal loss to Sevilla to keep a clean sheet against Brighton, producing a few exceptional saves during regulation.
Then, in the shootout, Sancho and Rashford scored, banishing the ghosts of their missed penalty kicks for England in the July 2021 European Championship final.
Solly March missed the crossbar for the Seagulls as United scored all seven of their penalties in the shootout. Despite De Gea failing to save a penalty, he was crucial during regular play.
"David played a great game, in and out of possession, he made some great saves, he’s done that so often this season, great saves, we have the most clean sheets in the Premier League, today a clean sheet as well, because we were so determined, we were fighting for it, we were organised," said Ten Hag.
He also applauded Sancho and Rashford for having the guts to score after going through such a terrible ordeal at the same stadium nearly two years earlier.
"From Rashy and Jadon about penalties, we knew that, but we knew also they’re comfortable on penalties, they dealt with it," added Ten Hag.
"It’s a time ago, but they are so calm and composed in training with penalties. I know this is a different occasion but I think it’s great they had this experience now and I think it will help them for the future. I don’t think there’s a hesitation, before there was never a hesitation because they are really good penalty takers."
Ten Hag praised the way his team bounced back from their terrible midweek setback and dubbed the defeat to Sevilla as the season's worst effort.
However, as the dust settles, he also realizes that, given how his squad stumbled in the second leg of the Europa League quarterfinal, there is clearly room for improvement.
"It was not us [on Thursday]," he said. "I don’t know what happened, I focus on this game, it’s such a short time to prepare this, get this done.
"It was the worst game of the season we played in Seville. We have to go through what happened, we can’t change it any more, all we can do is take lessons for the future and what we can improve is we can deal with setbacks between games, now we have to bounce back in a game in difficult citations or occasions or away stadiums, we have to show personality, carry on, stick to the plan and turn around.
"If we play a bad game, there were opportunities on Thursday to bounce back and get back into that game. If you can fight three days after a defeat, you can do it in a game."
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