Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has aimed a sly dig at Arsenal as he responded to claims from Gunners legend Ian Wright that Mikel Arteta could do a better job at Old Trafford than current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Arteta impressed as part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City before taking the Arsenal job last year, with the young Spaniard getting off to a fine start in his first job in management.
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Arteta seems to have lifted the mood at the Emirates Stadium and guided Arsenal to a surprise FA Cup final victory at the end of last season, with his side upsetting the odds to beat City in the semi-final and Chelsea in the final of the competition.
Wright recently stated that he felt the 38-year-old would do a better job at turning things around at Man Utd than Solskjaer has managed, but Saha does not believe the two clubs are comparable.
In what sounds like a bit of a dig at Arsenal, the Frenchman told Stadium Astro, as quoted by the Metro: “It is his (Wright’s) opinion. We are all here, we can comment. It’s easy.
“We don’t know what it’s like to be at Manchester United in this era. Maybe David Moyes can answer this or Mourinho. When I look at it from an external point of view, I think there is more problem of structure – so, above.”
He added: “If you look at Arteta’s pedigree and the actual results he’s bringing Arsenal. He’s got a different club to manage.
“It’s easy to compare. Manchester United is not Arsenal, I’m sorry. You don’t have the same fans, you don’t have the same competition to play with. It’s different.”
It’s not entirely clear what Saha means by this, but the implication may well be that managing the Red Devils comes with higher expectations and pressure.
United are certainly the more successful club historically, and that will no doubt have made it harder for each of the managers who’ve had to follow in the footsteps of Sir Alex Ferguson since his retirement in 2013.