Eight games and counting. That's what Manchester United’s winning run under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was extended to with victory over Arsenal on Friday. It’s not the only streak the Old Trafford outfit are on. The other one, though, stretches all the way back to October 30, 1937 - 81 years and 3,955 matches ago. It was back then that United picked an academy graduate in their matchday squad, and they have picked one in every matchday squad since. It’s an astonishing run that now forms a key pillar of the club’s core identity. Man Utd managers are now expected to carry the baton, giving youth the sort of opportunities they perhaps wouldn’t get at another elite club. The early signs are that Solskjaer will do his bit to continue such traditions. Marcus Rashford has been installed as Man Utd’s centre forward in-chief, Jesse Lingard is an integral part of the first team, while the sight of teenagers Angel Gomes, Tahith Chong and James Garner on the bench has become common in recent weeks. “That link between the academy and first-team is crucial,” explained the Norwegian not long after his appointment. “We bring players through to the first-team, we develop them to play a certain way and then they know when they get to the first-team this is how we want them to play. That's our identity, I was in the reserves as well, so I've been on that side of it, the link between the academy and the first-team, and I know how important it is that me, Nicky, Ricky and Neil speak a lot because that is in our tradition, it doesn't just go back to the Class of '92, it goes back even further than Sir Alex, back to Sir Matt Busby. And I'll never forget it, if you're good enough you're old enough.” All this will be music to the ears of Mason Greenwood. He hasn’t yet been given his first-team bow by Solskjaer, but many expect him to be the next homegrown superstar to come through at United. A club and a fanbase that has cultivated and harnessed world class talent like David Beckham, George Best, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, and more recently Jesse Lingard and Rashford, is hyped about its next academy-grown icon. There is great anticipation over how Greenwood will take to first team football. He is the most exciting prospect to come through the Manchester United academy since Rashford. In fact, in terms of his achievements at youth level, Greenwood has actually surpassed Rashford, scoring 24 times in just 20 appearances for United’s Under-18s, Under-19s and Under-23s teams this season. You may have seen some of his goals in one of the viral clips that have bounced around social media in recent weeks and months. His latest sparkling performance, which saw the 17-year-old bag a brace in a 4-1 win over Stoke City’s Under-18s, prompted some to draw comparisons with Robin van Persie, albeit with more of a propensity for dribbling.