Kaoru Mitoma, a winger for Brighton & Hove Albion, has acknowledged that in the FA Cup semifinal, right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka of Manchester United was superior to him.
The Japanese international has had an outstanding season for the Seagulls, making 31 appearances across all competitions and contributing 10 goals and seven assists.
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He was expected to be United’s main offensive threat on Sunday, but Wan-Bissaka defeated him by winning all of his ground battles.
In an interview with Stadium Astro, Kaoru Mitoma claimed that he was up against a formidable foe and that his attempts to assert himself resulted in a complete defeat.
Kaoru Mitoma said: “[Aaron Wan-Bissaka] is a strong opponent, that is what I thought while I was playing. But there were a lot of scenes where his legs stretched at the end or he got the ball down to the back. I think it was a complete defeat.”
Before the World Cup break, Wan-Bissaka was completely out of favor with manager Erik ten Hag. For United this season, he only saw four minutes of action.
The 25-year-old’scircumstanceshave changed since the restart, though. Diogo Dalot’s injury initially worked in his favor, and Ten Hag now appreciates his defensive contributions.
The former Crystal Palace player isn’t very good at setting up goals in the final third, but he’s one of the best at winning one-on-one matches.
Allan Saint-Maximin’s threat was completely neutralized by Wan-Bissaka in the second half of the Carabao Cup final. On Sunday, he did the same thing to Mitoma.
We won’t be surprised if Ten Hag decides to stick with his current options next season despite the fact that United have long been rumored to be interested in signing an attacking right-back.
Wan-Bissaka might have to be given up for a new signing since Diogo Dalot is close to agreeing to a new contract. Selling him, in our opinion, would be a grave error.
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Meanwhile, the ability to dribble is Mitoma’s superpower. For (per 90 minutes) successful take-ons (2.4), take-on success rate (51.9%), and progressive carries (5.6), he is in the top 10% of Premier League wingers.
Also, Wan-Bissaka has won 94% of his tackles facing a dribbler in the Premier League this season, best record of any player in the competition;
AWB – 94%
Manor Solomon – 90%
Daniel Amartey – 86%
William Saliba – 83%
Luke Shaw – 80%
