Former Arsenal defender and FA Cup winner Bacary Sagna claims Manchester United shouldn’t be satisfied with targeting just that trophy alone at this stage of the season.
It’s been nothing short of a tumultuous term at Old Trafford this campaign, which is a sentiment that applies to almost every single season post-Sir Alex Ferguson.
This time out, as Erik ten Hag navigates the second year of his tenure, the Reds were looking to build on a promising nine months that saw them finally put an end to a six-year trophy drought by lifting the Carabao Cup.
However, things turned awry significantly quicker than supporters expected; a seemingly endless string of dismal results left United slipping away from the Premier League top-four, out of the League Cup and out of Europe entirely before Christmas.
Each loss in recent months has either set or broken unwanted records for Ten Hag, whose position in the dugout has often been under the microscope and at risk of coming to a premature end.
The club remain in contention for the FA Cup after reaching the fourth round of the competition, in which they face League Two opposition Newport County. United reached the final last year but fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of cross-city rivals Manchester City, so avenging that heartache will undoubtedly be on the minds of the players.
United must aim higher, says ex-Gunner
Still, Sagna believes the 20-time champions shouldn’t get too ahead of themselves even if they go all the way in the FA Cup.
“Manchester United cannot just focus on the FA Cup – we’re talking about one of the biggest clubs in the world, and they cannot just be pleased with an FA Cup,” the Frenchman said, as cited by DAZN.
“It’s difficult for them because they’ve made a lot of changes in the past year, they had to rebuild, and they are still in the rebuilding process. Any team that goes through the same process, you need to be patient with the team, the coach, and we know that the fans are very demanding.”
He added: “Look at what Mikel Arteta did at Arsenal, he had to rebuild, it wasn’t an easy task, and it took a long time. Eventually, United will be back to their best.
“With United, they can’t just be in the FA Cup – they need to go for everything and do the best that they possibly can in the league.”