Alejandro Garnacho has just been given perfect motivation to fulfil Erik ten Hag’s ambition at Manchester United

If you’re good enough, you’re old enough - but that also means taking the rough with the smooth.

Alejandro Garnacho has been on the rise over the past 12 months but has now come across a dip. The winger has been left out of Argentina’s latest senior squad for their 2026 World Cup qualifiers with Uruguay and Brazil this week and Lionel Scaloni was not about to shield the youngster when explaining why he had been omitted.

“The reason for not calling up Garnacho? Ale’s non-selection is due to a form issue,” Scaloni said. “We don’t like to bring players in and constantly leave them out or leave them out of the squad. Everyone wants to be there and it’s great, but the human side plays and you have to make decisions.”

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This is not a harsh decision. Garnacho has rightly taken a lot of plaudits over the last 13 months since making his full debut, but he is now a regular first-team star at Manchester United and expectation levels increase.

Given his tender age of 19, that in itself is a compliment but if he wants to follow in the footsteps of idol Cristiano Ronaldo then being good isn’t good enough. In his 16 appearances so far this season he has just one goal and zero assists.

Despite this, Erik ten Hag has tried to combat the team’s shaky form by placing Marcus Rashford on the right in place of Antony and giving Garnacho the left flank berth. He has started the last three matches and only has a yellow card to show for his efforts.

“Hopefully he will progress so quickly that he can compete for a starting position. Because that is his next challenge," said Ten Hag in May. "Making decisions, being