Man Utd news: The alarming stat highlighting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s midfield problem

The verdict was damning from ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer got off lightly when the Sky Sports pundit evaluated their 1-0 defeat at home to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.

As United’s winless league run at home this season stretched to four games, Keane said: "Ole will lose his job working with these players - that's what is going to happen.

Just as United appear to be turning a corner, they take another step back - the past month’s results read as follows:

The 6-1 home humiliation to Spurs was answered in the best way possible with a win at Newcastle, but then impressive Champions League results were followed by bitterly disappointing displays at home to Chelsea and Arsenal.

The season is long, and packed with fixtures, and while rotation is essential, it is clear United’s players are unaware of what the approach will be from one game to the next.

You know how a Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola side will line up, formation wise at least, and while that may come with their superior experience, their approaches and methods are nothing new.

And even when you know what team Klopp will pick for Liverpool, less so for Guardiola and Manchester City, it is still so difficult to stop on most occasions as these players have the system and ways of their coaches imprinted in the mind, and have learned how to counter any tactics the opponent may adopt.

It is a work in progress but a clear approach is becoming evident at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta, likewise with Spurs under Jose Mourinho - similarly Nuno's Wolves, Brendan Rodgers' Leicester, Everton with Carlo Ancelotti, and arguably even Southampton with Ralph Hasenhüttl - but with United, there is no Solskjaer way of playing, and though this lack of direction sometimes pays off – in the sense that a beginner may win a poker tournament because they’re so difficult to read – it is impossible to bluff all of the time, and so United get found out eventually.

There was a half-time switch from a midfield diamond to 4-2-3-1 against Arsenal on Sunday, and while in this fickle nature of football we could have been singing his praises had they scraped a 1-0 win, we now find ourselves asking whether Solskjaer has any idea what system is best with the players at his disposal.

This is the side, plus Edinson Cavani, Alex Telles and Donny van de Beek, which secured a third-placed finish last season after a late run of form, but after a poor summer of recruitment Solskjaer is now even further away from discovering his best XI.

What appeared to be a welcome conundrum in midfield is one that has become even more difficult to solve. Six players for three, maybe four, places. Bruno Fernandes has one of those roles held down, and behind him Fred, Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Van de Beek are out hoping they are flavour of the month.

Fred and McTominay are to his tastes as it stands, while Pogba is being shoehorned in and Van de Beek reduced to cameo appearances, in the league at least.

In United’s six league matches so far this season, 12 midfielders have been substituted on.

In contrast, Liverpool have brought on nine midfielders in seven league matches, five being James Milner. Chelsea are five midfielders in seven matches, while Manchester City are seven in six.

Green = starts .... Lighter green = subbed on .... Yellow = left on bench .... Pink = not in squad

The point? It may only seem minor, but United are making two midfield substitutions per league match while the other teams who reached this season’s Champions League are averaging closer to one, so too Arsenal and Spurs.

A team’s midfield is supposed to bring with it stability. In N’Golo Kante and Jorginho, Frank Lampard knows he has two players who will last the duration, while the same can be said for Rodri at City or whoever may start for Liverpool.

Substitutions are there for essential tactical tweaks depending on how the match is panning out. A forward comes on when a team is searching for a goal, a defender comes on when a team is protecting a lead.

In bringing on two midfielders per match, Solskjaer finds himself somewhere in between, seemingly using his changes to keep players happy in the middle of the park, when that is really an area crying out for consistency and solidity.

And while only three subs are allowed, a rule the big clubs want changing, Solskjaer is therefore severely limiting his chances to sway a match tactically when he is so concerned with making midfield-for-midfield substitutions.

There is no method to what is becoming an increasing problem, and Solskjaer must settle this midfield soon if he wants to bring out consistent performances.