Manchester United will be hoping for a quick and positive response to their stunning upset by last-placed Sheffield United in midweek when they take on in-form Arsenal.
That will almost certainly require another strong display by Bruno Fernandes, the Portuguese playmaker who marks 12 months at the club on Saturday.
Fernandes has been little short of sensational in his year at Old Trafford but left his club open to accusations that they are too dependent on his skills – a charge of being a “one-man team” which Solskjaer was swift to counter.
He said: “Bruno has come in and helped the team, no doubt about that. Bruno came in at a time when we needed that type of player and Bruno came into a team that makes his attributes and skills come to fruition.
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“He’s come to a team that suits him and he suits the team. That goes hand in hand.
“If the players don’t run, Bruno can’t play his passes. If Bruno doesn’t play his passes then they can’t run.
“He’s part of a chain here and I’m sure that Bruno will say that he also appreciates his teammates and that they help him through games.”
Solskjaer was also keen to leave a first team door open for Jesse Lingard, ahead of the former England international’s loan move to West Ham.
He said: “We want Jesse to come back here revitalised and having shown at West Ham how good a player he is.
“He’s just been unfortunate with a couple of issues, some periods he had to stay away from us with Covid, isolation and close contact. The rest of the team has done well, we’ve little to no injuries, he’s not forced his way into the team.
“But he can come back and show he’s a Man United player through and through.”
Eric Bailly has overcome a muscular injury and joins the United squad for the visit to the Emirates, leaving Solskjaer with a fully-fit squad.
Solskjaer condemns racist abuse
Solskjaer also condemned racism on social media and demanded platforms take stronger action after United stars Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe were the victims of abuse this week.
In another dark week on the issue of racism in football, West Brom contacted police over a racist message sent to their midfielder Romaine Sawyers during their midweek loss to Manchester City.
The United pair were similarly abused on Wednesday, following United’s defeat to Sheffield United.
The pair will take their place in United’s squad for Saturday’s trip to Arsenal but Solskjaer has backed government plans to punish social media platforms that air such hate speech.
Solskjaer said: “I think the social media platforms need to be looked at, yeah, if you can create anonymous accounts and abuse people, of course it’s not right.
“We’ll work together with everyone to stop this nonsense. It’s just incredible we have these scenes still, this abuse in 2021.
“We’ve been campaigning for a long time now in the Premier League. I think to be honest it’s working but there are still some people that haven’t got it, hide behind social media, be anonymous and it’s unacceptable.
“Of course it’s disgusting, we condemn it.”
Solskjaer held meetings with both players after the incident and moved quickly to disown any United “supporters” who are guilty of racist abuse.
He said: “The players and everyone, we’ve spoken to each other and they’re fine, to put it that way.
“They’re not Man United fans when this happens. We’re all standing behind every single one of our players.
“Axel is fine, I’ve spoken to him, and of course it’s not nice but he’s a strong boy, strong character, he’s got support from his family and we’re a family in the club and his teammates are family.
“It’s not something you expect to see now but we’re not surprised once in a while when it happens. You have to feel sorry for these individuals.”
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