Rio Ferdinand, a former defender for Manchester United, asserted that Christian Eriksen makes Bruno Fernandes better, even likening the Portuguese to Lionel Messi.

Eriksen was inserted into the starting lineup with less than 15 minutes remaining in the game after Marcel Sabitzer suffered an injury during warmup prior to Nottingham Forest’s victory.

In the pivot, Eriksen performed admirably next to Casemiro. One of the best performances of his United career, the Dane commanded the midfield and set the pace of the game.

However, Bruno Fernandes rather than Eriksen won the award for player of the game. The team’s playmaker, Fernandes, was a creative force and might have scored if it weren’t for Keylor Navas’ numerous amazing saves.

After the game, Ten Hag lavished praise on both Eriksen and Fernandes for their rapid and flawless adjustments into their new roles against Steve Cooper’s team.

Only Lionel Messi has registered more goal contributions since Fernandes’ signing, according to a statistic provided by The Peoples Person.

Ferdinand stated, “His passing, he’s creating chances,” in a video posted to his Vibe with Five YouTube page. According to his statistics, Messi is his sole competition in terms of goal contributions since joining United.

No one is claiming that Bruno is on Messi’s level; I’m not saying he is either. But in those stats, only Messi is superior to him. In order to reach that other level, he needs Eriksen. The number of simple passes that Eriksen makes and how wonderful they are for teammates.

Ferdinand also took the opportunity to anticipate something big about United’s season in contrast to Arsenal’s title-challenging one.

The six-time Premier League champion stated that United will likely have had a better season due to finishing in a Champions League berth and winning the Carabao Cup, even if the Gunners do not win the league and finish in second place behind Manchester City.

The FA Cup and the Europa League are two further battles the Red Devils are engaged in.

If Man United finish third with just one trophy and Arsenal don’t win the league, Ferdinand continued, “They’ve had a better season.” Who is the happiest player if, as a player, you finish third and win a trophy—the Carabao Cup or whatever—and the team above you finishes second but wins no trophies?

“The third-place finisher.”

Ferdinand, however, made it clear that he wanted Arsenal to defeat City and take first place.