It's down to me to show the real Anthony Martial - Man Utd forward aiming to rediscover form
Anthony Martial is goalless in eight outings for Manchester United and France this term but is confident he will soon find his groove.
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has vowed to work hard and return to his best form after a disappointing start to the 2020-21 campaign.
The France international is without a goal in eight outings for club and country this term and was sent off in United's humbling 6-1 league loss to Tottenham earlier this month.
He has yet to get a single shot on target or create a chance for any of his team-mates in his three Premier League appearances.
That is in stark contrast to his form of 2019-20 when Martial scored 23 goals and set up 12 more across all competitions as United reached three semi-finals.
But Martial, who is into his sixth season at Old Trafford, is hopeful that his best is yet to come in a United shirt.
"The red card was my first ever and it's something I will learn from. But it will at least allow me to work even harder in training to come back even better," he told United Review.
"I still haven't scored yet this season. But I know that as and when I get off the mark with one, everything will be fine.
"So, it's down to me to keep putting in a big effort in training and to then show everybody the real Anthony Martial."
Martial was able to play in last week's Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain as his three-match ban for a clash with Erik Lamela only applies to domestic games.
The 24-year-old became the ninth United player to score an own goal in the competition but played a part in his side's recovery as they prevailed 2-1 in the French capital.
"These things happen. Since it was my hometown club, I just wanted to give them a bit of a helping hand," Martial joked when asked about the own goal.
"Seriously, that kind of thing can happen to anybody, but the main thing was that we managed to score the winning goal right at the death, and that was more important to me."
Bragging rights
Martial said what was especially satisfying was that he got one over on a number of friends who support PSG.
"They'd all told me that we were going to lose, and I'd told them that we wouldn't. So when we went on to win I was overjoyed," he said.
Cavani a proven goalscorer
Martial's absence against Chelsea on Saturday paved the way for Edinson Cavani to come on as a second-half substitute for his United debut.
The free transfer acquisition scored 200 goals in 301 appearances for PSG and nearly found a way through in the goalless draw with one of his two shots.
Martial has backed the Uruguay international to be a success at Old Trafford, saying: "He's a really great player who has proved exactly that all the way through his career.
"I hope that he'll manage to help us out. It's always a positive to have even more quality within the group."
Martial is in contention to start United's Champions League clash with RB Leipzig on Wednesday as they look to win their opening two games in the competition for only a second time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.