Arsenal hero Paul Merson has given Manchester United hope of securing a top-four finish in the Premier League this season.
The Red Devils, who finished sixth last term, are currently seventh having won just three of their opening ten leagues matches of the 2019-20 campaign.
Manchester United spent almost £150m on new signings in the summer but that has not produced consistent results at Old Trafford and they are already 15 points adrift of leaders Liverpool.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have enjoyed a promising week, however, after holding in-form Liverpool to a draw before clinching wins in the Europa League and Premier League.
And former Arsenal star Merson says Manchester United will be right back in the mix for a top-four finish if they can maintain their promising run.
‘It’s been a good week for them,’ Merson told Sky Sports. ‘They stopped Liverpool, went to Partizan and kept a clean sheet and they would have wanted to keep a clean sheet against Norwich.
‘They had to beat Norwich surely, they got beaten 5-0 by Aston Villa at home and the last thing you need is to be going there and getting beaten – that would have been a disaster.
‘We put such a high bar on Man Utd because they’re the biggest club in the world and now we’re talking about having a good week drawing at home to Liverpool and beating Partizan and Norwich away.
‘I didn’t think in my wildest dreams that I’d be sitting here talking about a good week like that for Man Utd. A few years ago, it wouldn’t even come up, it would just be run of the mill.
‘Liverpool don’t win at Old Trafford and they go and win the other two games – that’s what is expected, but this is where they are at the moment.
‘All it is with Man Utd is a bit of consistency and confidence. You only have to win three on the trot and before you know it, you’re back in the top-four race and that’s what they’re in.’
Merson also heaped praise on returning Manchester United forward Anthony Martial, who was on target in the 3-1 win over Norwich on Sunday.
‘Martial is a top player, he’s better than a lot of the players they’ve got,’ Merson added.
‘If you’re the manager, you’re always going to hope a player like him is coming back into the team. On his day, he can rip anybody apart.
‘With Marcus Rashford also playing, they’re going to hurt teams and fly up the table but it’s all about consistency and they’ve got to put in performances like they did against Liverpool every week.’
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