Alan Shearer Exclusive: Rashford must come out firing in Aston Villa last chance saloon

• Rashford must rediscover top form at Aston Villa

• Amorim's false nine shows he doesn't rate Reds strikers

• Battles like Gabriel v Haaland used to happen every week

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Rashford is in the last chance saloon at Villa 

Marcus Rashford leaving Manchester United was the best option for all parties. I know it's only a loan but he's now got a chance to start his career again because he's been miles off it, and has had a few managers criticise him, they've said he's had the wrong attitude,  so he's now got a chance to start again. 

He has to start again because there's no doubt a talent is there but it's a talent that has been wasted for the last few years and a football career is short, so to waste a few years is terrible really. 

Now he's got his fresh start, we've got to see the energy, the love and all those things that we saw when he hit 30 goals. This was a young guy who could sit down with Prime Ministers, but it's all gone wrong.

He's had more than one manager question his attitude and Ruben Amorim has had enough of him and wanted him out because he didn't feel that Marcus was right for his team. You've got the right to do that as a manager. 

Rashford now has to prove more to himself than anyone that he's still got the hunger and desire to do well in the Premier League. It's all down to him. 

He doesn't want to play down the middle, I think he's said that himself. He feels as if he's better on the left-hand side which is where I suspect he'll play. We don't know how long Ollie Watkins is out for but they've also now signed Marco Asensio so they have a couple of options in forward areas now. 

Rashford has got to get back to what he was. He has to get back to showing everyone that he loves the game of football and he wants to be part of a successful Aston Villa team. 

Unai Emery won't take any passengers so it's the last-chance saloon for Rashford to prove to himself that he still loves and wants to be in the game of football. 

Big spending won't save Man City's season

Man City have spent £180m in the transfer window but I'm not sure if that will save their season. Not if things happen like they did on Sunday when City collapsed against Arsenal and lost 5-1.

They're nowhere near to what they were and Pep Guardiola needed fresh bodies in there. He needed to add energy and legs to the midfield and they got that on transfer deadline day with Nico Gonzalez. 

But their recruitment is what's let them down of late. They spent £50million on Kalvin Phillips, £50million on Matheus Nunes and they're not anywhere near the standards that the club set last season. So that's why Gonzalez has come in because there's no doubt there's been energy lacking in the midfield areas.

Amorim's false nine shows he doesn't rate Hojlund

Ruben Amorim opted for Mainoo in the false nine position against Crystal Palace at the weekend and I imagine Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee will be feeling very flat.

 They'll be thinking whether they actually belong or want to be at the football club when they've got the new manager playing a midfielder as a false nine ahead of centre-forwards.

Hojlund and Zirkzee will be feeling very flat and there'll be a lot of thoughts going through their minds about whether they want to be there and whether Amorim awants them. Clearly, he doesn't because he needs results which he isn't getting and he's not playing either forward.

You never, ever get a free hit, but I think such are the deep-rooted problems at that football club that someone has had to come in and be given the time to rip it apart. 

I know they signed a new full-back in January but we know it's going to take more than one transfer window to get that club right and I think they'll have a lot more pain before there'll have any joy. 

Chris Wood is having the season of his life

Everyone's realising and thinking that Chris Wood is, without doubt, having the season of his life. He's found a manager and a system that really suits him, he's got really good players in and around him in terms of creating chances and it's great to see. 

It's brilliant to see his name up there with Salah, Haaland and Isak, as one of the Premier League's leading goalscorers, and I think he'll stay up there. I was really impressed by the way Nottingham Forest bounced back from getting a beating at Bournemouth by scoring seven against a very weak Brighton side who didn't offer much fight. 

I hated opponents just like Haaland and Gabriel

I'm amazed at the fuss around Haaland and Gabriel. When you go onto a pitch, you're in a huge fight. Those battles when I was playing happened every single week/ I hated who I was playing against and they hated me. 

You're not meant to be best friends, you're meant to be really, really competitive and fight to the end to try and score to get three points. That's the aim of the game.

The whole Gabriel v Haaland situation is refreshing. I love it, I really enjoy it and I think it brings the best out of both players when there's a bit of edge. I had that every week and my job coming onto the football pitch was to make the centre-halve's life a misery for 90 minutes. if that meant crunching tackles, climbing above them for headers and all those things then great.

Once you get off the pitch and you want to shake hands, great. If not, you move on. All this best buddies and shaking hands does nothing for me, particularly before the game. I love to see a physical battle and those two epitomise what I did every single week.

Gabriel would have come off the pitch on Sunday feeling much better. I know Haaland got his goal but Arsenal scored five at the other end. They got the points, battered Man City and got the bragging rights for that game so without doubt Gabriel felt better. 

I hope Gerrard manages in the UK soon

Steven Gerrard has left Saudi Arabia and I hope he gets back into management in the UK. He clearly doesn't have to work, but I hope it's not the last we've seen of him or Wayne Rooney.

I hope someone somewhere gives Gerrard the opportunity to go in and manage just like Frank Lampard is doing really well at Coventry now.

Frank has taken Coventry from the relegation places really close to the play-offs so I hope, very much like Frank, that Gerrard gets another job somewhere in the game.

Now read Newcastle v Arsenal: Back a fast start from Gunners at 13/8