Anthony Martial’s wife Melanie gives him a haircut at home
Manchester United star Anthony Martial has failed to reach his potential so far because he was not "policed" by his team-mates in his early days at Old Trafford, says Arsenal legend Lee Dixon. Dixon revealed how Arsenal great Thierry Henry told him he believed Martial could be as good as he was as a player. The forward joined United from Monaco in 2015 and made an immediate impact, scoring a fine solo goal against rivals Liverpool on his debut.
Man Utd news: Lee Dixon says Anthony Martial was not policed by his United team-mates (Image: GETTY/OFF THE BALL)
"And that's how it was and Thierry will tell you a story where he came in, he says himself he was borderline a bit arrogant, he'd come to Arsenal, he was going to be a star and he came into our group.
"We were looking at him going 'he's got his socks pulled over his knees in training, he was walking out with his collar up' and stuff like that.
"We kind of looked at him and went 'alright, let's just see how you go'."
Henry went on to score 228 goals for the Gunners, winning two Premier League titles and three FA Cups.
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Dixon says he has spoken to his former team-mate about Martial and reckons the 24-year-old is yet to reach his potential because he was not helped by the players around him like Henry was.
"He talks about this, I spoke to him a while ago actually about Martial," Dixon added.
"I was saying 'Do you know him?' and he goes 'Yeah', he came from the same town, part of Paris as Thierry came from, so he knows him.
"I said 'I'm not quite sure about him but something reminds me of you when you first came to Arsenal'.
Man Utd news: Anthony Martial has won three major honours at United (Image: EXPRESS)
"And he went 'You're spot on, he's like me, he's got that little bit of...', you can see that on the pitch with him.
"But I don't know whether their dressing room, well I do know, I'm saying it nicely, but [the United] dressing room didn't police him like we policed Thierry.
"I think with a bit of control from his players around him, Thierry said himself: 'He could be as good as I became'.
"That's really important in a young player's development.
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"It's not all about how many keepy-uppies you can do, how many top bins you can hit in training, how fast you can run.
"There is a whole other side of being a footballer and you have to learn that."