Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand provided a warning which his old club failed to heed in their loss at Arsenal.
Nuno Tavares, Bukayo Saka and Granit Xhaka found the net for the Gunners, while Cristiano Ronaldo scored United's goal in their 3-1 defeat. Bruno Fernandes missed from the penalty spot with the score at 2-1, and the loss leaves United six points behind their rivals having played a game more.
The result prompted more questions about interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who warned successor Erik ten Hag there is "a lot of work" needed. Ferdinand, however, anticipated some of the problems in store.
"Ralf Rangnick has been here and been really honest, but is he elevating his fingerprints on the club to take the pressure off him with what is happening with results at the football club?" BT Sport pundit Ferdinand asked before kick-off. "Coming to a football club and not knowing how they play is obviously a recipe for disaster.
"As a manager, you have to get those players that don’t run around to move around," he added. United's performance drew plenty of criticism, with full-backs Diogo Dalot and Alex Telles both criticised for their part in the first two Arsenal goals.
United were already without the likes of Edinson Cavani and Luke Shaw for the trip to north London, and Paul Pogba was also missing after limping out of the midweek game at Liverpool. Pogba has questioned whether the Anfield defeat was his last appearance in a United shirt, but it was another defensive display to forget after the Tuesday night setback.
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"We need positive energy for the new team and the new manager," Rangnick said after the defeat. "If he gets that, if the right lessons are being learned, this could be one of the few good things about the season we are going through."
"The good thing - one of the few - is it's crystal clear. You don't even need glasses to see the problems... now it's only about how you can solve them. Not minor cosmetic things.
"This is an open heart operation. If everyone realises this has to happen and works together, it doesn't need to take years."
Ferdinand himself has offered advice to Ten Hag as the Dutchman prepares to take over, suggesting the manager's experience at Ajax can help him perform a squad overhaul. Several players are expected to leave at the end of the season, including Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani, while Nemanja Matic has already confirmed his plans to move on.
“[Ten Hag has] had players that are rough diamonds, players that are off the conveyor belt of the youth system, bringing players from the academy that he’s integrated into the first team and helped become superstars,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel Vibe with Five. “And he’s had players that have been discarded by opposition teams and teams from around Europe and seen that talent.
"And what that says to me is that he’s been working with a recruitment team who have been getting it right more often than not – and that’s a big, big element that needs sorting out at Manchester United – because recruitment, I think, has probably been one of the biggest downfalls of the last 10 years."
