Erik ten Hag's next big Manchester United test is one he cannot afford to lose

After a late defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, few would have thought the conversation surrounding Manchester United post-match would centre around player issues.

Yet in his post-match press conference, Erik ten Hag appeared to poke a reaction out of Jadon Sancho when he was asked why the winger was missing from the squad. The Dutchman declared it was an issue regarding his training form which kept him out of the team which travelled to North London.

Sancho soon hit back, all but declaring Ten Hag a liar for his comments and insisting he would 'continue fighting for the badge'. The whole incident was reminiscent of the Anthony Martial saga under Ralf Rangnick.

The Austrian claimed Martial refused to be in the squad and the centre forward chose to argue his case on social media. In this scenario, Rangnick came out looking weaker and any authority he may have once held soon dissipated. Ten Hag cannot afford for this to happen to him.

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After the Cristiano Ronaldo debacle last November, Ten Hag came out looking strong. Arguably, it was easier to come out of that situation well because of the method the Portuguese star had taken to air his grievances.

Few, other than people named Piers Morgan, felt going on a news channel to criticise the manager and other aspects of United was the correct way of going about things.

But still, Sancho has drawn a line in the sand here and despite claiming he respects the manager's decision, going on social media to criticise his thinking is not how United can be seen to be running the club. Ten Hag must nip any resentment in the bud early, like he did with Ronaldo, and get everyone on the same page after the international break.

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