Wayne Rooney is never one to hold back in an opinion and he’s suggested Manchester United are miles behind both Arsenal and Manchester City in one key factor right now.
United ended up winning the FA Cup last season but struggled in the league as Arsenal and Man City dominated proceedings on that front.
With Erik ten Hag now confirmed as staying at Old Trafford, the United fans will be hoping for far more consistency.
And speaking about his former club, Wayne Rooney has suggested that United can take a leaf out of City and Arsenal’s book.
Manchester United struggling to get the basics right compared to Arsenal and Man City
Speaking alongside Gary Neville on The Overlap’s Fan Debate, Rooney suggested that United simply don’t get the basics right like Arsenal and City do.
“When you are talking about doing the basics, as weird as it sounds, that’s the hardest thing to do as a football player – to do the basics well,” Rooney said.
“You have players who can bring a bit of magic and off the cuff and will score a goal but getting a group of players to do the basics well, it’s very difficult.
“Man City do it, Arsenal do it, but you look at Man United and some teams throughout the Premier League, a lot of them don’t do the basics well and that’s what costs them, it’s so difficult to do as a team.”
A big season for United and Ten Hag
This is interesting from Rooney here.
Clearly, it is something that’s so important in even the highest levels of the game and the fact he mentions United suggests he’s not overly impressed with them.
For Erik ten Hag, this is something he can surely work on over the summer and you feel there’s a big season coming for the Dutchman.
Given the board have now put their faith in the United boss, he’ll be expected to oversee improvements at all levels and these ‘basics’ Rooney mentions need sorting.