Michael Owen has argued that Manchester United are still not title challengers after they lost 7-0 to Liverpool on Sunday.
United now sit 14 points behind league-leaders Arsenal and nine behind second-placed Manchester City, with Owen admitting that the Red Devils are still not at the elite level just yet. Speaking on Premier League Productions, he said: “We mustn’t all of a sudden think 'oh, they are title contenders and they are going to win everything'.
"They are still a little bit behind the likes of Manchester City. You could argue Arsenal and teams like that, they are hunting down. Although, Arsenal have gone again.
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"In this great run that they had, they hadn’t got me out of my seat by thinking 'this club is going to take the Premier League by storm say next season'. I have been really impressed by the progress Manchester United have made.
"But there is still a long way to go, but that was before [the Liverpool defeat]. Obviously, [that] makes you think that more."
However, United hero Gary Neville's previous comments aren't quite in line with his former teammate Owen. In fact, the ex-England right-back predicted the Red Devils to finish above Arsenal as recently as last week.
Speaking on the Overlap , he said: "I thought City would win the league and United would finish second two or three months ago. To be fair, I’m not going to change my mind on it.
"I still think City are going to win the league even though Arsenal, the closer it gets… but 14 games is still a long way to go. I still think United will finish second."
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