Lisandro Martinez has been berated for his height by those in the media in recent weeks, but when comparing his aerial performance against Southampton to Chelsea's defenders, the results are rather telling.
Manchester United's new centre-back came in from Ajax standing at just 5'9 and pundits such as Jamie Carragher have made major claims against his ability to play in the Premier League.
After the entire team experienced troubles in the opening two fixtures of the season, Martinez was unfairly singled out by many.
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Since then, he's had two Man of the Match showings against Liverpool and Southampton.
The Argentine also seems like he will receive the club's Player of the Month award for August after his performances.
His intensity, ability on the ball and intelligence are just three important qualities that he brings to the table.
However, there are many more aspects that he brings to the table, including heading ability, ironically.
Despite his height, Martinez's timing, aggression and leap means that he is no slouch in the air despite his height.
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That has been highlighted in a recent comparison.
In United's victory against Southampton, where Martinez helped his side keep a clean sheet, the left-sided centre-back won five aerial duels, according to StatmanDave.
That was matched by a 100% success rate from the former-Ajax man.
Chelsea played Southampton on the following matchday, but were less successful at Saint Mary's.
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They lost out 2-1 to Ralph Hasenhuttl's team as 18-year-old Romeo Lavia was on the scoresheet.
In that game, Kalidou Koulibaly (2) and Thiago Silva (1) won just three aerial duels between them out of nine battles.
They lost out on six aerial duels, meaning they had a 33% success rate, which looks very unimpressive next to Martinez's perfect score.
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Silva is one of the greatest defenders the game has seen and is only two inches taller than Martinez and under the six foot quota.
He's shown that being shorter as a defender is not a large weakness if you are impressive in other areas, like the pair of them are.
Meanwhile, Koulibaly stands at 6'1 and lost out twice in the air in the 90 minutes. It suggests that height is not the only factor in aerial ability, as previously mentioned.
This is not a one game off, too. Martinez proved his ability in the air across the four game period so far this season, with better aerial statistics than many top Premier League defenders.
Topics: Manchester United, Lisandro Martinez, Southampton, Chelsea, Kalidou Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, Football, Premier League
Cain Smith