Ferdinand: Man Utd will have had ‘a better season’ than Arsenal if the Gunners bottle the title

Rio Ferdinand thinks that Man Utd will have had “a better season” than Arsenal if the Gunners manage to lose out on the title to Man City.

The Red Devils have had a promising first campaign under Erik ten Hag with the Dutchman putting them on course for Champions League qualification via the Premier League and leading them to Carabao Cup glory.

Man Utd could also add more silverware to their cabinet with Ten Hag’s men still in the FA Cup semi-finals and Europa League quarter-finals.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have been having a wonderful season in the Premier League and are currently four points clear at the top of the standings but second-placed Man City have a game in hand.

There will be growing pressure on Arsenal this week after they threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 against West Ham at the weekend with opposition supporters .

And Man Utd legend Ferdinand reckons if the Red Devils finish third with a trophy and Arsenal finish second without a trophy then Ten Hag’s side have had the “better season”.

Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five YouTube channel: “If Arsenal don’t win the league and Man United finish third and just the one trophy, they [United] have had a better season.

“If you’re a player, forget fans, and you finish third and win a trophy — Carabao Cup whatever it is — and the team above you finish second and win no trophies, who is the happier player?”

Man City beat Leicester City 3-1 on Saturday to pile pressure on Arsenal ahead of their draw against West Ham on the Sunday and Ferdinand thinks it was a big thing for Pep Guardiola to be able to rest some of his players at half-time and early into the second-half.

Erling Haaland and John Stones were brought off at the interval, while Rodri was taken off on 53 minutes, Kevin de Bruyne on 62 and Jack Grealish on 74.

Ferdinand added: “The biggest thing to come out of that game was the amount of rest the top players got. He substituted these guys at half-time… listen, Haaland’s on a hat-trick, ‘sub, come off’. It’s crazy but they need to do it.

“They’re in all the competitions, the treble is up for grabs. He’s [Guardiola] got to be diligent about how he sets up his teams, making sure he gives players the most amount of rest he can. When they put themselves in those type of positions they did at the weekend, you’ve got to take full advantage of that and he’s doing it.”