With Arsenal drawn against Sporting Lisbon in the last-16 of the UEFA Europa League, the prospect of arguably the tournament’s best attacking midfielder going head-to-head with it’s best defensive midfielder should make an already intriguing clash all the more enthralling.
No one averaged more tackles per game in this season’s Champions League group stages than Manuel Ugarte’s 4.8 (WhoScored). Sporting’s iron-clad Uruguayan has maintained those sky-high standards since dropping down to the Europa too, averaging four across the comfortable last-32 victory over Danish outfit Midtjylland.
A tally that outstrips even the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni, Thomas Partey and Manchester United maestro Casemiro.
Arsenal, and Martin Odegaard in particular, will be the greatest test yet of Ugarte’s destructive abilities. But bet against Sporting’s very own ‘Man of Steel’ at your peril. The all-action 21-year-old has risen to every challenge; going about his business with the same ruthless efficiency no matter the occasion, and no matter the opposition.
Manuel Ugarte vs Martin Odegaard
According to Record, both Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United have scouted Ugarte regularly in recent months. Now, with the former Famalicao starlet on his way to England in mid-March – he is suspended for the first leg but will be back for the second – Ugarte has the ideal opportunity to silence any remaining doubters by limiting the influence of Arsenal’s talismanic number eight.
Stop Odegaard in his tracks, and the £53 million release clause in Ugarte’s contract will look that little bit more tempting to his growing collection of suitors.
“In the national team, (I play) in a double pivot. And, at Sporting, I play more as a number six,” says Ugarte; highlighting a flexibility and intelligence that only serves to make him all-the-more impressive.
Read Related Also: Traveller impressed by bougie South Australian supermarkets after visiting Barossa Fresh
“But I have also played as number eight. These are the positions in which I feel most comfortable.”
The best defensive midfielder in the Europa League?
Ugarte has more to his game than hassling, harrying and haranguing. An 90.8 per cent pass completion rate in the Portugeuse top-flight is proof of that, even if Ugarte does still hope to improve his distribution.
“(Kevin) De Bruyne is a fantastic player in the final third. He is an amazing passer,” he adds.
“In my position, (I idolise Sergio) Busquets. I try to copy the way he escapes the press with clean and targeted passes. I have to get better with my first touch. And I have to (be more aware of what is around me).
“If you do, you get a wider picture and that’s something fundamental.”
Given Arsenal’s tendency to press high and swap the midfield, Ugarte’s ability to play through the lines could be as important as his perfectly-timed tackles with a Europa League quarter-final spot on the line.
In other news, Liverpool’s £35m target Teun Koopmeiners labelled ‘best midfielder in Serie A’
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,script’,
‘
fbq(‘init’, ‘677672980820926’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
