Harry Maguire's win percentage playing with Jonny Evans

"For this moment it is the maximum but we want more and I don't have a lot of patience. Standards have to go up."

Despite a promising debut season at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag was quick to point out that merely settling for a Champions League berth was far from his primary objective when he took the Manchester United job.

While their noisy neighbours continue to set a supreme standard and are the favourites to win an unprecedented fourth-straight Premier League title this season, there was hope that the Red Devils would at least compete with the Sky Blues. However, the early signs in 2023/24 are foggy for Ten Hag's men.

At the Emirates on Sunday, United succumbed to their second defeat in north London as Arsenal struck twice at the death to claim a 3-1 victory. The Red Devils were in the contest for its entirety and could quite easily have won it, but Arsenal's late show raised further questions regarding their outlook with Ten Hag at the helm.

An injury crisis has struck early, with Ten Hag's backline being particularly affected. Luke Shaw, Raphael Varane and Tyrell Malacia were both absent on Sunday, while starting centre-back pair Lisandro Martinez (knock) and Victor Lindelof (illness) were forced off in the second half. That left United with a defensive pairing Leicester fans would have been pretty familiar with.

A Harry Maguire x Jonny Evans partnership? Cor, now we're talking. Ten Hag discussed the need to raise the standards at United towards the end of 2022/23, but he didn't ask for the keys to the world.

Here's how the deadly duo have fared when they've lined up alongside one another in the past.

Harry Maguire's record alongside Jonny Evans

Their late cameo appearance together at the Emirates was the 18th time Maguire and Evans have featured in the same backline.

The pair started 15 games together at Leicester during the 2018/19 Premier League season in what was Maguire's last at the King Power before he earned a £80m move to Man Utd. While the Englishman was an undisputed starter when available, Evans drifted in and out of the team a little more.

Nevertheless, during their 15 starts, they helped the Foxes keep four clean sheets - two of which came against Arsenal and Chelsea - but won only four games, conceding 20 goals in the process.

Overall, the pair worked pretty well together, although Leicester were distinctly uninspiring with Claude Puel at the helm. Things came to a head in February 2019 when the Foxes were beaten 4-1 at home by Crystal Palace which cost the Frenchman his job. It was a particularly poor display from Evans and Maguire despite the former scoring, as the Northern Irishman gave away a penalty, while Maguire was dispossessed in the build-up to Palace's fourth.

Harry Maguire's win percentage with Jonny Evans

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