Rio Ferdinand criticises Mikel Arteta and Arsenal forward after Man Utd defeat

Mikel Arteta was overly ‘cautious’ against Manchester United, says Rio Ferdinand (Picture: Getty)

Rio Ferdinand took aim at Mikel Arteta ’s overly ‘cautious’ approach after Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United , accusing the Spaniard of playing with the ‘handbrake’ on for much of the season.

The Premier League leaders saw their advantage cut to just four points as Matheus Cunha came on and beat David Raya with a late wonder strike to silence the Emirates crowd.

Michael Carrick’s United were forced to come from behind to win in north London after Lisandro Martinez directed the ball into his own net on the half-hour mark.

A rare misplaced pass from Martin Zubimendi gifted the visitors an equaliser through Bryan Mbeumo before Patrick Dorgu’s thunderous 50th-minute effort sent the away end into raptures.

The Gunners had looked on course to salvage a point from the contest as Mikel Merino scrambled home after some goalmouth pinball – but Mbeumo had other ideas after coming on in place of Mbeumo.

The result saw the Red Devils leapfrog Chelsea into fourth place in the table, with Carrick winning two from two after the club’s shock derby day victory over Manchester City last weekend.

‘Arteta is cautious, he’s naturally [cautious]. His first instinct is to go, “Oh, let’s just throw a few jabs”, everything’s a jab,’ ex-United and England defender Ferdinand said on his Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel.

A late Cunha wonder strike won it for Manchester United (Picture: Getty)

Arteta cut a frustrated figure on the touchline (Picture: Getty)

‘I haven’t seen the right-hand haymaker come over the top, I haven’t seen him get close on the inside with an uppercut.

‘Everything is at a distance, just poking it out, little touches here and there, not even a stiff Lennox Lewis jab!

‘It’s got to be more than that.’

@metrosportuk Are Man United BACK?! 💥 Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-2 in the Premier League after two unbelievable goals from Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha, and a rare poor performance from the Gunners at the Emirates. #manchesterunited #arsenal #matchreaction #dorgu #carrick ♬ original sound - Metro Sport

Gabriel Jesus was found wanting for the most part at the Emirates (Picture: Getty)

Martin Zubimendi gifted United their equaliser (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal opened the scoring thanks to Martinez's own goal (Picture: Getty)

Mbeumo has shone since returning from AFCON (Picture: Getty)

Dorgu send the away end into raptures with a thunderous effort in the 50th minute (Picture: Getty)

Saka had an off day in north London (Picture: Getty)

Ferdinand feels Saka been a shadow of his former self of late and there is now a body of evidence that suggests the England forward has lost some of the connection he once shared with Martin Odegaard.

‘He’s the one they always go to but I don’t see him running onto anything,’ Ferdinand said of Saka.

‘Maybe it’s just the way Arsenal play or maybe it was that Manchester United got into a shape so quickly and didn’t allow there to be space in behind to run.

The Gunners need to take the ‘handbrake’ off, says Ferdinand (Picture: Getty)

‘But I never see him running onto things. I want to see him doing that.

‘He’s now brought that other part to his game where he runs on the outside which I like, it’s added a different variation to his game.

‘The link-up with Odegaard isn’t what it was a year or 18 months ago.’

According to Ferdinand, Arsenal may only have themselves to blame if they manage to throw away their lead and miss out on the title this season.

‘The biggest hinderance or obstacle maybe to Arsenal winning the league is Arsenal,’ he added.