Ferdinand claims United will have had a better season than Arsenal if Gunners finish 2nd

1. Rio Ferdinand has divided opinion online with his take on what would define Arsenal’s success this season
2. The Manchester United legend claimed the United would be considered more successful than Arsenal in the event the Gunners fail to clinch the league
3. Arsenal drew 2-2 with West Ham on Sunday to hand City an opportunity to close the gap to one point

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has come up with an interesting claim, as he suggested United would have had a more successful season than Arsenal if the Gunners end up in second place come May.

In Mikel Arteta’s fourth year in charge of the North Londoners, the Spaniard has performed superbly and his side are well on course for a first Premier League title since 2004.

Despite their draw against Westham, a second in a row, Arsenal maintains a four-point lead on Manchester City, albeit having played a game more.

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At the start of the season, Arteta would surely have been targeting Champions League football, but his side has exceeded expectations and are seriously challenging for the title.

“If Arsenal don’t win the league and Manchester United finish third and win just one trophy, they have had a better season.” Ferdinand said in the Vibe with Five Youtube show.

“If you’re a player, and you finish third and you win a trophy right and a team above you finish second with no trophies, who is the happier player?”

Fan reactions

On social media, there was a huge debate among fans on Ferdinand’s sentiments.

@Sodiq said:

 "Yea Man Utd has had the better season, but deep down we know the team that has really overperformed."

@Shabbazteaser said:

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"I’d rather arsenal win the league and we finish 3rd with 3 trophies"

@Enzicoxelreal added:

"It depends. if your club has recently won a trophy (liverpool, chelsea, arsenal with the fa CUP) you might prefer to finish second with no trophies, but if you're a club like spurs or united (who havent won anything for years) you'd prefer to finish 4th with a trophy."

While @dafwilliam95 said:

"Yes United would have the better season. But in the long run the league cup and Europa league is the maximum that united side will win with current transfer strategy and bang average manager. Yet Arsenal are on a completely different path and aiming way higher with a young squad"

What next for Arsenal?

Arsenal will hope to get back to winning ways over the weekend as they come up against Southampton on Friday, April 21.

That game will be followed by a potential title decider against Manchester City five days later.