James Garner certainly picked a good moment to send Manchester United a reminder of his talents at the weekend.
The midfielder caught the eye of the countless United supporters watching on as he helped Nottingham Forest dump Arsenal out of the FA Cup on Sunday.
In front of the television cameras, Garner impressed with his display in the middle of the park as he and his teammates out-performed their Premier League counterparts.
United fans on social media lauded the 20-year-old for his display, with some even drawing comparisons with Paul Scholes after seeing his range of passing.
Garner even came close to getting his name on the scoresheet after forcing Bernd Leno into a good save from a well-struck free-kick, and he played a vital role in preventing the Gunners from even registering a shot on target.
The midfielder’s reward is another plum tie in the fourth round against holders Leicester, but perhaps more importantly for United, he’s given a timely reminder of his prospects as his parent club look at ways of shoring things up in the middle of the park.
Having sent Arsenal packing, Garner celebrated the win by taking to Instagram, posting a couple of pictures of himself in action along with the caption: “What a performance!! What a team.”
His performance caught the attention of a few of his United team-mates, with the likes of Anthony Elanga, Teden Mengi, Angel Gomes and Di’Shon Bernard all signing his praises in the replies.
For now, Garner’s attentions will turn back to Forest’s push for promotion back to the Premier League, with Steve Cooper leading his side to sit just outside the play-off place in the Championship after arriving in September.
But it may not be long until Garner has another opportunity to impress on the big stage, and United fans will no doubt be keeping another close eye on him in the next round of the cup.
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