coped well with what Jose Mourinho demanded of
him on his full debut for the club – staying with
Arsenal superstar Alexis Sanchez.
Tuanzebe, 19, had only previously made one FA
Cup substitute appearance but was thrown in at the
deep end at Emirates Stadium on Sunday and
tasked with marking one of the world's top players.
The defender relished the opportunity despite his
side's 2-0 defeat and hopes his first-team
breakthrough will lead to him playing a bigger role
in the United squad next season.
"The manager gave me one task - to stay with him
[Sanchez] and I seemed to do that quite well,"
Tuanzebe, who played at right-back, said to MUTV.
"But we didn't win, so it doesn't count as much.
"It is 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.
"It is all thanks to the manager because he gave
me the opportunity. 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.
"You don't have a time where you are 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'.
"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 is 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."
Manager Mourinho was hugely impressed with
Tuanzebe, making a point of praising him after the
loss.
Mourinho said: "I think he did an amazing job and I
think Alexis Sanchez knows his name because the
kid played very well."
Tuanzebe was also thrilled to see fellow youngster
Scott McTominay come off the substitutes' bench
late on to make his United debut against Arsenal.
"The manager giving the young players
opportunities is always good," he said. "I have
grown up with Scott over the years, so to see him
make his debut is a proud moment.
"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."
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