I think I speak for everyone at the club when I say that our thoughts are with all who have been affected by COVID-19, and I have to take the opportunity to say that we will get through this situation quicker if everyone observes the government’s guidelines and stays indoors.
I know it’s hard, but this is the situation we find ourselves in and we have to do whatever we need to in order to bring it to a head as soon as possible.
To be honest, for me the past few days have been much the same as last week. My priorities are to stay indoors, stay safe and, from the football perspective, stay fit. Like I said last week, the club has given us programmes to work to and I’ve been sticking to that because it’s so important. Beyond that, it’s just a case of keeping myself busy with a bike ride in the morning, the gym in the evening and during the day I’m either playing Playstation or catching up with friends and family.
To be honest, for me the past few days have been much the same as last week. My priorities are to stay indoors, stay safe and, from the football perspective, stay fit. Like I said last week, the club has given us programmes to work to and I’ve been sticking to that because it’s so important. Beyond that, it’s just a case of keeping myself busy with a bike ride in the morning, the gym in the evening and during the day I’m either playing Playstation or catching up with friends and family.
"My brother is a big help for me with my football work... as a defender it’s amazing to have an attacker living with me during lockdown. It means I get to spend a lot of my days just tackling him!"
I’m sharing lockdown with my brother and sister, which is a huge help for me. We used to annoy each other growing up, but we all get along much better nowadays and we have a really good relationship. Last Thursday we were all out again, like the rest of our street, clapping the NHS and critical care workers, which is a nice experience to share with them. My sister’s quite quiet and spends a lot of time in her room, but my brother loves football as much as I do, so that’s a massive boost for me in terms of making the time go by quicker.
My brother is a big help for me with my football work, because he pushes me. There’s no danger of struggling for motivation because he’s always there to help me get the best out of each session. It also helps me a lot that he’s more of an attacking player than me, so as a defender it’s amazing to have an attacker living with me during lockdown. It means I get to spend a lot of my days just tackling him! It definitely helps me stay sharp.
As for competitive football, I’m missing it every single day. Part of my plan for coping with all the spare time is watching back our games from this season. It gives me the chance to look back over what we’ve done and learn from it for when we’re allowed to get back to doing what we love. It’s all about looking at the team as a whole. I miss all of them. When you look back at our performances from the early weeks of the season compared to how we were playing in the weeks before lockdown, the improvements are clear to see. You can see how confident we’re getting in front of goal and we’re just getting better as a team.
Obviously when I’ve been watching the games back I’ve had an eye on my own performances too, and I’m happy with how things have gone so far in my first season at United. I really enjoyed the two Premier League derbies against City. It was a big decision for me to come to United and things have gone well, but when the time comes when we can get back to playing football, I know there’s still a lot more to come from me.
Obviously when I’ve been watching the games back I’ve had an eye on my own performances too, and I’m happy with how things have gone so far in my first season at United. I really enjoyed the two Premier League derbies against City. It was a big decision for me to come to United and things have gone well, but when the time comes when we can get back to playing football, I know there’s still a lot more to come from me.
FAN QUESTIONS
Who has been your toughest opponent since you joined United? (Via @iam_danstix)
I’d say Raheem Sterling; those are the battles I’ve enjoyed the most. He keeps going, just keeps on coming at you. Doesn’t matter if he doesn’t get past you in one challenge, he keeps coming back for more every time. That’s what I like. I’ve been happy with my performances in both league derbies and the results both times were just what we needed. The second one was just before lockdown, and that was an incredible afternoon. We were prepared for that game and we showed that as a team on the pitch. When Scott scored the second goal, the whole stadium just went off and you could see what it meant to everyone.
What would you have been if you were not a footballer? (Via @hiyab05994416)
What would I have been? I’ve never even thought about being anything else other than a footballer. Literally since I was four years old, being a footballer was the only thing on my mind. I haven’t even thought about a plan B. I only ever wanted to make it as a footballer.
Who has been your toughest opponent since you joined United? (Via @iam_danstix)
I’d say Raheem Sterling; those are the battles I’ve enjoyed the most. He keeps going, just keeps on coming at you. Doesn’t matter if he doesn’t get past you in one challenge, he keeps coming back for more every time. That’s what I like. I’ve been happy with my performances in both league derbies and the results both times were just what we needed. The second one was just before lockdown, and that was an incredible afternoon. We were prepared for that game and we showed that as a team on the pitch. When Scott scored the second goal, the whole stadium just went off and you could see what it meant to everyone.
What would you have been if you were not a footballer? (Via @hiyab05994416)
What would I have been? I’ve never even thought about being anything else other than a footballer. Literally since I was four years old, being a footballer was the only thing on my mind. I haven’t even thought about a plan B. I only ever wanted to make it as a footballer.
How did you get so good at tackling? (Via @BrazyBissaka)
I want to say I worked on it, but at first I think it was just natural. Even when I was an attacker coming up at Palace, my tackling was noticed then too. I don’t think I really knew how good I was at it until I started taking it seriously. These days I work on it a lot more!
ASK AWB – YOUR QUESTIONS NEEDED
Each week during his stint as our guest contributor, Aaron will be answering supporters’ questions, so visit Twitter and post your questions using the hashtag #AskAWB and check back next week to see if yours was answered.
I want to say I worked on it, but at first I think it was just natural. Even when I was an attacker coming up at Palace, my tackling was noticed then too. I don’t think I really knew how good I was at it until I started taking it seriously. These days I work on it a lot more!
ASK AWB – YOUR QUESTIONS NEEDED
Each week during his stint as our guest contributor, Aaron will be answering supporters’ questions, so visit Twitter and post your questions using the hashtag #AskAWB and check back next week to see if yours was answered.