In Manchester United's 5-1 FA Youth Cup win over Chelsea under the age of 18, 17-year-old Danish centre-forward Chetdo Obi-Martin scored a hat-trick and boss Adam Laurenson applauded him. Obi has scored seven goals in three FA Youth Cup games this season, the same number as Garnacho when he won the competition in 2022.
In 2018, Manchester United's Under-18s also beat Chelsea at home in the FA Youth Cup, and Mason Greenwood, who was also 17 at the time, also wore a hat-trick. However, Aoki's team then went out and failed to win the championship. Obi obviously doesn't want that, and his next opponent is his old club Arsenal! The two teams will compete for a place in the last four at the Emirates Stadium.
Ironically, United did not schedule Wednesday's game against Chelsea at Old Trafford, so only 738 spectators were in attendance. Allegedly, this is related to Sir Jim Ratcliffe's requirement to cut costs and reduce the cost of maintaining the stadium.
Obi's goalscoring efficiency is in stark contrast to the two centre-forwards in the first team. Last week, Ruben Amorim confirmed that he would not use Obi for the time being.
"He's doing his job," Amorim explained. 'He needs to improve, he plays in the youth team and there are other players in the first team who play in that position. Rasmus (Hojlund) and Joshua [Zilzek] are there, we bought these two players and need to improve their level, sometimes confidence can change a player and we will see the results at the end of the season. We have two strikers who can score goals and they have proven themselves in the past, so let's see if we can improve the team as a whole to help them score goals."
Zirkze's goal against Leicester City was the first goal in 12 games for United's two centre-forwards. Many fans would love to see Obi and even other youth team players in the first team. In the FA Youth Cup, the club's technical director Jason Wilcox and first-team coach Darren Fletcher, who acted as a bridge between the youth and first teams in Amorim's coaching staff.
Many Arsenal fans have regretted that Obi chose Manchester United, and if he had stayed, he might have been in Arteta's first team by now. Gunners striker Kai Havertz has been out for the season due to a serious injury to a training camp in Dubai, and with Gabriel Jesus being scrapped earlier, the team is missing a centre-forward, leaving Leandro Trossard as the only option.
If at Arsenal, Obi should have been in the first team by now. While Manchester United and Arsenal lack strikers, the environment is different. Amorim is concerned that the Red Devils' first-team tactical system is not in shape and cannot create good opportunities for the forwards, and if Obi is called up, he may be isolated, like Hojlund, affecting confidence and falling into a first-team environment that is not suitable for him to play, which is not conducive to development. Arsenal, on the other hand, has a more complete system and a simpler integration of players.
United have to be more patient, which is not necessarily a good thing. Obi mimicked Marcus Rashford's signature move to celebrate his second goal of the game. Marcus Rashford's rise took place nine years ago in February, but he has since been lost, and Red Devils fans hope Obi won't do the same.
Now, Obi continues to work on Manchester United's youth team to lay a solid foundation and wait for his first-team debut to come, waiting for Amorim to transform the dressing room to a healthier one.