Arsenal legend Martin Keown has urged Jadon Sancho to take responsibility for his own failures and “be the bigger man” in his apparent falling out with Erik ten Hag.
The former defender claims that Ten Hag tried to put his arm around the player in the past, and it still didn’t work.
Speaking on White and Jordan earlier this morning, Keown told talkSPORT: “You have to follow that from the start – when Ten Hag came to the club I think he did brilliantly for the player, he taken out of the club. shooting line and he took him to Holland to treat him, we talked about mental health issues, we also talked about injuries and he fed him and tried to get him back into the team.
“At no real moment have I seen this Sancho play with frankness, with determination. It doesn’t seem to me that he’s a player that, yes, he’s an incredible talent and we saw it at Borussia Dortmund where he was tearing down defenses, but I don’t see it, so why? Is there a lack of motivation or a lack of desire?
“The manager is looking for performance in training, work ethic, and above all you are going to be on time for training. If you are late, there is a problem, these are non-negotiable.
“It’s about discipline and there’s a message for the group here, not just for this player, that it’s really important, it’s about getting the message across to the group about how you behave He doesn’t work hard enough in training, he doesn’t have the discipline, he doesn’t respect the group or the staff, so he had to take a step forward.
“It’s tough love for him, but Ten Hag has tried the other approach, tried putting his arm around him and it doesn’t seem to be happening.
“When I was a young player, many years ago, Graham Taylor said to me: ‘When you come to a football club, make sure they talk about you for years afterwards, make sure that your photos are visible in the building’.
“They won’t be there for Sancho because he hasn’t done anything since he was at Manchester United.
“It’s not about whether a manager gets the best out of himself or not, he has to get the best out of himself and he should put his hand up and apologize to the manager.
“He got emotional and the manager tried to wake him up, that’s what it’s about, and the player is not ready to apologize.
“I think he must be the tallest man. If I’m in his corner, I tell him: “You go see the manager and you save your career.”
