15 January 2023 , 00:10
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Rio Ferdinand has warned Arsenal that Manchester United's style of play will create a "problem" for them in their Premier League clash next week.
The Red Devils will travel to the Emirates Stadium next Sunday in a top of the table battle. The Gunners could be eight points clear of second-place Manchester City if they defeat Tottenham in the North London Derby.
And the big matches will keep on coming for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who will see his side host United in exactly one week's time. The Red Devils have been reinvigorated by new boss Erik ten Hag, who is in his first campaign in the Old Trafford hotseat.
The Dutchman has impressed so far and masterminded an impressive win over City on Saturday. His side were forced to come from behind against Pep Guardiola's men and only had 29 per cent of the possession at Old Trafford.
Despite that lack of possession, goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford secured all three points for United. They have now emerged as shock contenders in the title race, sitting just one point and one place behind City.
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And Ferdinand believes that the manner of the win in the Manchester derby means that United will be a huge threat for Arsenal. The Red Devils legend has now cautioned Arteta that his former side will be "dangerous".
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Goals from Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes secured United a statement win over Manchester City (Getty Images)"I just think the way Manchester United play, we’re a problem for Arsenal. Today we were a problem for Man City too. I think Arsenal will have the lion's share of possession, but in the transitions, United are so dangerous," Ferdinand told Vibe with Five.
"Even under Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] we were good in transitions. But even more so now because we’re more structured and harder to break through. I think before the goal, Man City only had one shot on goal. For all the possession that City had.
"There’s been a fragility with Manchester United in the last few seasons. Going 1-0 down against City, in past seasons you would have felt like walking out. But today they didn’t panic, they remained resilient and came back really well.
"I’m going to be very, very calm and collected and say you know what, we’re in the shake-up right now and Champions League football is looking much more positive for next season.
"Let’s see where the next couple of weeks, couple of months take us and maybe then we can revisit the championship talk."
Ten Hag echoed Ferdinand's feelings on United's potential title challenge and insisted that there was still too much of the season to play to be able to discuss overhauling Arsenal.
United boss Erik ten Hag has refused to name his side among the title challengers (Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)"I think we can talk about titles in January. We are not even halfway and there is a lot to come, I think, a lot of games but in our game as well, there is a lot to work on. We can achieve something in this season," he said.
"I'm convinced about that but there is still a long way to go about to restore Manchester United back to where they belong. The project is not only this season. But, of course, I want to achieve something this season and approach it game by game."
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