Marcus Rashford raised eyebrows on Thursday evening when he gave Manchester United a European lifeline by bagging two goals on his debut against FC Midtjylland, but while it was certainly a spectacular arrival on the professional scene, nobody expected him to have any impact against Arsenal on Sunday.
But just like Lionel Messi days before him, Rashford scored twice against Arsenal. Those watching struggled to believe that a kid who had been hiding in the Manchester United under 21s all season was now responsible for making a major dent in Arsenal's title chances.
Where on earth has Marcus Rashford been hiding?
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) February 28, 2016
What a week for the lad. A double on European debut and Domestic debuts. Shows if given a chance our kids can play.
— Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) February 28, 2016
Joey Barton has a point. While some may struggle to comprehend that sentence, the reality is that when Barton isn't riled up he can have give an insightful view, and the point here is that Rashford was given the chance to play, and he took it. Louis Van Gaal has built a career on giving young players a chance when his squad is depleted.
He gave Xavi his debut at Old Trafford in the Champions League, well and truly thrown in at the deep-end, and even this season the impressive Cameron Borthwick-Jackson would never have been given a shot if it wasn't for Van Gaal's policy of looking for a youth player to plug a gap fist, before asking a first-team player to do a job out of position.
#MUFC pic.twitter.com/C2ZeYMJFGh
— Full Time DEVILS (@FullTimeDEVILS) February 28, 2016
Marcus Rashford's goalscoring heroics probably won't save Louis Van Gaal's job, but it may have a huge impact on Jose Mourinho's employment prospects.
If the idea is to be believed that the Manchester United board, or at least Bobby Charlton and Alex Ferguson, don't want Jose Mourinho in charge because his way is not "the United way" (as eye-roll worthy as that phrase is), then his outright refusal to give young players a chance at Chelsea will be highlighted by the exploits of Rashford.
How many promoted academy prospects have been given their debuts in the last five years at Stamford Bridge? The number is most certainly lower than the amount that Manchester United have given this season. If Jose Mourinho was in charge of Manchester United like so many wanted, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Marcus Rashford would still be unknown. Now, that's not to say those two players are stars and will go on to be club legends, but there is a genuine buzz about them among the fans, and Jose simply wouldn't have put them in.
Instead, Mourinho would have played without a striker as he has done many times in the past when his frontmen have been missing. Memphis, Ander Herrera, even Juan Mata would have been leading line and the bus would have been parked. Instead, Louis Van Gaal trusted Marcus Rashford and a star could well have been born.
The young striker will now be used as the shining example as to why Mourinho doesn't belong at Old Trafford by those who do not want him there, and with the undeniable buzz surrounding Rashford's future, it's going to be hard to ignore.
It would be interesting to ask the 40 or so players on loan at Vitesse Arnhem and the likes how they feel about Marcus Rashford's rise to prominance.
