Tuanzebe 'Chuffed' With Full Debut

Axel Tuanzebe admitted his full debut for Manchester United was bittersweet but he hopes his impressive performance against Arsenal is just the start of things to come.

The 19-year-old was given the nod by manager Jose Mourinho in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium and was charged with keeping tabs on Alexis Sanchez, in front of 60,000 fans.

Far from being daunted, the youngster held his own at right-back against the Gunners’ top scorer and discussed the experience with MUTV after the game, though he admitted his excitement was tinged with disappointment because of the result.

“It’s all thanks to the manager because he gave me the opportunity,” Tuanzebe told MUTV. “We didn’t get the win, which is a disappointment, but I’m chuffed personally.

“At first, you see all the fans and you think ‘flipping heck’ but when the game starts, you lose yourself in it and concentrate on doing your job.

“The manager gave me one task: to stay with him [Alexis], and I seemed to do that quite well but again, we didn’t win so it doesn’t count as much.

“But it’s good to have the opportunity to play – the manager gives you a job and you have to show he can trust you for future games.”

Tuanzebe has been in and around the first-team squad since catching Mourinho’s eye in pre-season last summer, though his only previous senior outing so far came as a substitute in January’s Emirates FA Cup win over Wigan Athletic.

“You don’t have a time where you’re ready to play – you just have to be thrown into the deep end and if you can cope, you know you have confidence and you can fall back on it and think ‘yeah, I’ve played like that before and I can do it again’,” the youngster reflected.

“I feel in with the lads now. It also demonstrates to people that I can play and the lads have more trust in me, so it’s a good feeling.

“My goals now are to get as many minutes as I can until the end of the season and come back stronger for pre-season, to show the manager I’m here and one of the stronger candidates for next year’s team.”

Reserves captain Tuanzebe also had a word for his teenage team-mate Scott McTominay, who came on for the final five minutes in North London to make his senior debut.

“The manager giving the young players opportunities is always good and I’ve grown up with Scott over the years, so to see him make his debut is a proud moment,” added Tuanzebe.

“It can help all the young players coming through the system to believe they can do it. Marcus [Rashford] was an example and now I’m an example, Tim [Fosu-Mensah] and Scott are examples. It gives the young lads a boost that they can do it too.”