Jamie Carragher has warned Erik ten Hag against thinking he can do for Manchester United what Mikel Arteta has done at Arsenal - despite boasting a better early record than his rival.
The Dutchman is facing a battle to retain his job beyond the year having set numerous unwanted Premier League records at Old Trafford, including number of losses and goals conceded - with the loss at Crystal Palace offering up a new nadir.
Arteta meanwhile is battling with Manchester City for the Premier League title. Previously however the Spaniard had to weather some serious storms, retaining the backing of the club when there were some calls for him to be sacked.
Arsenal's faith has stood them in good stead and whilst Ten Hag would like those in power in Manchester to do the same, he does not have as much to hold onto as Arteta did. The Spaniard claimed the FA Cup early on, beating major rivals en route, and often showed shoots of what he was trying to accomplish - which Carragher maintains Ten Hag can't do.
He wrote in the Telegraph: "Although the league form was breaking the wrong records, the cups and Europe were a salvation. In all competitions, Arteta actually won more of his first 100 fixtures than Arsène Wenger. That meant amid the setbacks there was always a sense of an ultimate destination. When Arsenal enjoyed good results and performances, you could see the fruits of the work on the training ground. Arsenal took steps back to move forward.
"Manchester United, by contrast, made a move forward last year, but have taken several steps back since."
The Dutchman has often pointed to a horrific injury record, which at its worse has seen him without five first-team centre-halves, which has seriously tested his resources. That has contributed to some of their poor results, but the manner of those defeats has rang alarm bells.
Carragher maintains that: "None of Arteta’s most disappointing losses were remotely comparable to the 4-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Monday night."
He also noted that "Arteta’s Arsenal performance levels never sank as consistently low as those of Ten Hag’s Manchester United."
United will square off against Arsenal this weekend with the Red Devils in need of the points if they want to qualify for Europe. Earlier this season Ten Hag saw his side lose to the Gunners, courtesy of two late goals at the Emirates.
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