WATCH: Rio Ferdinand claims Mikel Arteta would leave Arsenal to join Manchester United

Former Manchester United defender turned pundit Rio Ferdinand has made a name for himself for his over-the-top takes.

The Englishman has now claimed Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta would leave the Gunners to join Manchester United in the blink of an eye.

Mikel Arteta to leave Arsenal

Speaking on his platform FIVE’s podcast, Rio Ferdinand dabbled with the hypotheticals of Erik ten Hag vacating his role. Should the Dutchman be sacked or signed by another club, Ferdinand believes the Red Devils already have a target in sight.

“If Manchester United, in a wild dream, said, ‘You know what, Erik ten Hag, thank you!’, or Erik ten Hag’s just been poached by Bayern Munich and he goes there. And then United says, ‘On the top of our list is (Mikel) Arteta’.

”Arteta is going in and saying to the lads, ‘Listen guys, it’s been emotional, but I’ve got to move, I’ve got to go.’”

Rio Ferdinand has a habit of saying things to get a reaction from fanbases that are Manchester United’s rivals. In recent times, Arsenal and the club’s fans have been one of his favourite topics to speak on.

However, it seems as though it is the Englishman’s wishful thinking, rather than it being anywhere close to reality. Considering the situation his former club are faced with, few managers would prefer stepping in.

Rio Ferdinand’s inaccurate assessment

Mikel Arteta has revamped Arsenal in his four-and-a-half years in charge since taking over in 2019. He won the FA Cup after defeating Chelsea in the final in his first season. The club then finished outside the Champions League spots thrice but roared into title contention mode last season. They have carried that forward this year as well and made it out of their Champions League group as winners.

Manchester United, on the other hand, finished third last season. However, they are currently in sixth place, eight points off the Champions League spots. Despite being in the top six, they have scored just 36 goals and have a goal difference of zero. They were knocked out of the UCL in the group stages and have also been knocked out of domestic cups.

While United were once the top club in England, it seems Rio Ferdinand is eager to rush back to the glory days.

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