Arsène Wenger explains Manchester United’s two-part problem to Erik ten Hag

Legendary Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has explained to Erik ten Hag exactly where Manchester United go wrong after their 3-0 loss against Manchester City.

Manchester United fell to Manchester City‘s mighty sword on Sunday afternoon as an Erling Haaland brace and Phil Foden finish saw Erik ten Hag‘s team continue their miserable start to the Premier League season.

The Old Trafford club currently sit 8th in the Premier League table after 10 games, collecting 15 points out of a possible 30 in that time – they already sit eight points off the top four spots in the table.

Read More: “They’ve been missing” – Jonny Evans admits Manchester United have key player problem

There have been many theories as to why United’s form has taken such a nose dive after some very successful periods during the Dutch manager’s maiden campaign at the club, with Arsène Wenger feeling he has identified the two-part problem.

“I believe where Man United suffers a lot, first of all, is about the quality, the individual quality of the players,” he told beIN Sports on Sunday afternoon. “And I felt today they were very poor to build the game up from the back. They gave the ball so many times to the goalkeeper when they had the possibility to play forward.

“I would say it started there. Then you make the whole team uncertain and lack confidence because when you feel the fear is behind, they do not want the ball.

“I would say the second part of their big problem today was the distances between the striker and the defenders was huge. There were situations where the strikers were closing down, trying to pressure, and the defenders were 20 metres behind the halfway line.”

“You cannot win the ball back against a team like Man City when the distances are too big. The team was not compact enough, after that, the difference of individual quality. If you tell me tonight: how many players who get in the first XI of Man City?

“For me that sums it up. Usually, in a big game or a big derby, you’d say I would take three or four from here and there. That sums up the problem of Man United, basically.”