Man Utd is criticized very far from candidates in the English Premier League
"The time of Sir Alex Ferguson is long gone," Merson commented on Sky Sports on September 5, after witnessing Man Utd lose 1-3 on Arsenal's field in round 4 of the Premier League. "They are very far from being able to win the championship. I know every candidate is a long way behind Man City, but Man Utd is very far behind."
The 55-year-old former midfielder also criticized Man Utd's counter-attacking style of play. He believes that it is a negative style of play - especially compared to the identity of this club, and advises coach Erik Ten Hag to be more courageous in letting the players play imposingly.
Man Utd is holding the record of 13 times to win the English Premier League. However, the last time they were crowned was the 2012-2013 season, the last season of former coach Alex Ferguson. After the Scottish legend retired, Man Utd's best achievement was runner-up in the 2017-2018 season under Jose Mourinho and runner-up in the 2020-2021 season with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Last season, under the leadership of Ten Hag, Man Utd finished third behind Man City and Arsenal.
This season, Man Utd has only won six points from four Premier League matches. They won against weak rivals Wolves and Nottingham Forest, but lost as guests to Tottenham and Arsenal. In Arsenal's most recent match at Emirates Stadium, the "Red Devils" mainly played counter-attacking defense, and opened the score thanks to a quick ball move and individual handling by Marcus Rashford. However, they then conceded three goals, each taken by Martin Ordegaard, Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus.
The unconvincing start to the season has raised concerns among Man Utd fans about team building. During the summer transfer window, they were one of the teams that spent the most with more than $200 million, bringing in midfielder Mason Mount, goalkeeper Andre Onana, striker Ramus Hojlund, left back Sergio Reguilon and midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.
According to Merson, the rare bright spot in Man Utd's defeat against Arsenal was Rasmus Hojlund, who entered the field in the second half of the second half. However, he believes that only time can verify Hojlund's true quality. "Hojlund looked good, but that was just a 20-minute performance," said the midfielder, who played for Arsenal from 1985 to 1997. "I also saw Mykhailo Mudryk impressive for about 20 minutes at Liverpool in January, and then he seemed to disappear."
Also according to Merson, Man Utd is forgetting that it is one of the biggest teams in the world. He used evidence that they chose to borrow left-back Sergio Reguilon from Tottenham, instead of spending nine million USD to get Marc Cucurella from Chelsea. "They recruited a player who can't even play for Tottenham," Merson added.
While Man Utd struggled at the start, all opponents played well. Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham are in the top 5 after four rounds, with points from 10 to 12. West Ham, the team that sold Rice to Arsenal, even ranked fourth with 10 points.
