Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has told Erik ten Hag that his side are not playing as well as Arsenal because they "don't have to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo".
Mikel Arteta's side currently sit top of the Premier League, having won eight out of their nine games so far, including victories over Liverpool and Tottenham. United are the only side to take points off the Gunners this season as they ran out 3-1 winners at Old Trafford thanks to a debut goal from Antony and a second-half brace from Marcus Rashford.
After a disastrous start to the league saw the Reds lose to Brighton and Brentford, United's only domestic blemish since those games has been against rivals Manchester City. Ten Hag's side sit in fifth as they start to build some momentum under their new manager.
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However, Saha has now had his say on why United are not performing as well as Arsenal this season. The former Red believes it is the off-field antics of particular players and the politics that go on behind the scenes that are making the difference.
He told Compare.bet : "When you have the chance you have to perform, it’s the same as [Jadon] Sancho [not getting in the starting XI], this squad is big. Some other squads are playing better at the moment, like maybe Arsenal, and you’ll see less problems with status and ego down there than with United.
"You don’t have to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo and scoring 700 goals or [Harry] Maguire being club captain. Whereas Arsenal has a young squad full of talent and you can manage them. You can tell them to go and sit on the bench, players might not be happy but they can’t do anything about it. That’s not the case with United.
"It’s harder, there’s more politics and it can be a big challenge. So those players, they have to understand it’s not the same as a normal squad that you’d have to deal with."
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