If Arsenal doesn't win the Premier League title this year, in Rio Ferdinand's opinion, Manchester United will have had a better season.
The team led by Mikel Arteta is presently four points ahead of Manchester City in the top-flight standings, although the Blues have a game in hand over the London club. Arsenal will play City at the Etihad Stadium the following week after losing their last two games after drawing with Liverpool and West Ham.
If Pep Guardiola's team wins their games in hand, the Gunners will only be ahead of the defending champions by one point, meaning that Arsenal will likely require a result against the Blues on April 26.
Given how long Arteta's team has been in first place, several commentators have said it would be a failure if they don't win the championship.
United, on the other hand, has already won the Carabao Cup this season and is still in the mix to finish in the top three and win the FA Cup, Europa League, and both. Erik ten Hag's team may end up having the stronger overall season, according to former defender Ferdinand when comparing the campaigns of Arsenal and the Reds.
"If Arsenal don't win the league and Man United finish third and just the one trophy they have had a better season," he said on Vibe with Five.
"If you're a player, forget fans now, and you finish third and win a trophy, Carabao Cup whatever it is and the team above you finish second and win no trophies, who is the happier player?"
"The one who finished third," he asserted.
However, Ferdinand continued to state that he 'hopes Arsenal win' the league this year. Even though the Gunners were eliminated from the FA Cup and Europa League earlier this season, they still have a chance to win the Premier League for the first time in almost 20 years.
Ten Hag's team might possibly finish the season with three medals, which would surely be regarded as a fantastic debut season for the Dutchman.
Former Manchester United's player and Rio Ferdinand's teammate turned Pundit Gary Neville agreed with Rio Ferdinand's comments but he highlighted that two players will determine if Erik Ten Hag's side will end the rest of the season in the most positive way given the team's latest injury woes.
The performance of center backs Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, according to former captain Gary Neville, will determine whether Manchester United is successful from now until the end of the season.
Neville, speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, said: "Look, for Manchester United we can whinge a little bit, but I don't think it would go anywhere by saying that Varane and Martinez have been the best pair - they have. United will miss them.
"But a lot of clubs would be in a lot worse position. I don't know how many games Maguire and Lindelof have played together, but it is an awful lot. To have such experience to come in as your third and fourth centre-backs, I think it is a great position to be in."
"We know that other teams have been without players; [Ruben] Dias has been out this season for City; we know that [Virgil] Van Dijk's been out; we know that [Joel] Matip's out regularly and [Ibrahima] Konate [all for Liverpool]. For Arsenal at the moment, [William] Saliba is out.
"So you can't really whinge when you have spent a quarter-of-a-billion pounds to have a squad that surges. You saw today [vs Nottingham Forest] with [Scott] McTominay, [Luke] Shaw and [Marcus] Rashford out, United still ended up with a really good team. I saw the team before the game and thought it was a strong team."
"[Anthony] Martial is capable of playing at the levels of Rashford - there is no doubt about that. If he can a four or five-week period where he can excel and play at his level, and they can keep him fit, then they shouldn't see too big a drop-off. Antony and [Jadon] Sancho are £175million worth of wide players."
"In midfield, you've got [Marcel] Sabitzer who's gone off and [Christian] Eriksen has come on. Fred has also come off the bench, who is a £50m midfield player, so there is a lot of strength in depth. Casemiro is obviously very important and I think he brings a real calmness and composure."
"But for United, how they do for the rest of this season, and obviously Maguire will miss the Brighton game, will be largely down to how Maguire and Lindelof bed back in again and really settle themselves. They shouldn't have a problem with that because they have got loads of experience and have got quality."
Meanwhile, Erik Ten Hag's had dismissed any suggestions that the team's injury woes would have any adverse effects on the results on the pitch.
As Manchester United prepared to face Nottingham Forest last Sunday, Erik ten Hag was confident that his team has enough depth.
The Dutchman is combining a top-four push with their effort to follow their Carabao Cup win with Europa League and FA Cup glory in a hectic debut season with no let-up.
In the midst of this chaotic time, United go to relegation-danger Forest in the Premier League last Sunday before focusing on cup concerns.
The score was now tied at 2-2 in the Europa League quarterfinal matchup with Sevilla ahead of Thursday's second leg in Spain. The FA Cup semifinal matchup with Brighton would take place at Wembley the next Sunday.
"We have depth in the squad," Ten Hag said as the number of absentees grows at a vital stage of the campaign.
"We have to use the squad - that's also what we did (on Thursday). In the meantime, you have to win games, so also you need a tactical approach to win the games."
"But I think we have good players and when we have problems - so injuries, suspensions - we have depth in the squad."
Asked about the impact of opponents having played fewer games at this stage than United, Ten Hag said: "Yes (I need to think about energy levels), but I see also an advantage."
"We had more games so we have more routines, so we like to play and that will give the energy."
"I think many, many advantages and we want to go for silverware. That has to give energy. We want to go to make this season a success. That has to give energy."
Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay didn't featured on Sunday as well as Tyler Malacia who was reported to have bruises foot, but Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez will be out due to injuries they sustained against Sevilla. Lisandro Martinez will miss the rest of the season after breaking a metatarsal bone in his foot.
The defensive pair will be watching from the sidelines as United attempts to defeat Forest for the fourth time this season, joining players like Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and Donny van de Beek.
The latest injury calamity was Marcel Sabitzer, who picked up a knock during the warm up ahead of 4:30 pm fixture at City Ground on Sunday. He was replaced by Christian Eriksen who went ahead to make his first start since January.
Prior to Ten Hag's team winning 3-0 on the banks of the Trent and 2-0 at home in their Carabao Cup semifinal match, Steve Cooper's promoted team lost the reverse league match at Old Trafford in December by a score of 3-0.
"I know what place they are and we know what we can expect on Sunday," the Dutchman said of Forest, who enter the weekend 18th in the standings.
"They are in a survival mode and they will run for their lives, so we have to be ready for that game."
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