Paul Scholes column: Manchester United taking ‘risk’ sacrificing league form for Europa League and Mikel Arteta-Gareth Southgate similarities
Published 10/05/2025 at 08:06 GMT+1
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In his second exclusive column with TNT Sports, Manchester United legend Paul Scholes reveals why Manchester United hold an advantage over "favourites" Tottenham Hotspur in the upcoming UEFA Europa League final, as well as discussing why Mikel Arteta could find himself in a similar situation to former England manager Gareth Southgate after another trophyless campaign at Arsenal.
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Former England and Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes will be providing exclusive insight and analysis for TNT Sports for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign. In this week's column, he explains why Tottenham Hotspur should be considered the "favourites" for the UEFA Europa League final, the importance of Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United, and the differences between Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi. Watch the Premier League, Champions League and Europa League live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Why Man Utd will edge 'slight favourites' Spurs in final
A lot of people will favour United for the final. When you look at the recent matches between the two teams, then you’ll probably have to make Tottenham the slight favourites, but Manchester United are used to being in finals. Even in recent bad periods, they’re still reaching finals and winning trophies and I think that experience is big.
Tottenham have always been a good team. They were during my playing days, and they’re a good team now, although they’ve had this reputation of not being the best mentally. But I enjoy watching Ange Postecoglou's Spurs team now, and we can talk about history all we want, but United have to perform better than they have in the past to win it.
The way that Man Utd win games these days is that they have little bursts where they play well. They’ll have long periods of not playing well and then, all of a sudden, they’ll have a spell of 10–15 minutes which wins them the game, and that’s what happened in the semi-final second leg at Old Trafford.
I wouldn’t be surprised if something similar happened in the final. Tottenham will probably be the best team on the night, but I just think that United will have enough to win. The worry is Man Utd are playing a Premier League team in the final but can’t win a Premier League game, and that’s the biggest issue. I suppose if it was a league game, they’d stand no chance, but it’s in the Europa League and it seems to be different and gives them a chance of winning a game.
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'Risky' for Man Utd to sacrifice Premier League games
Manchester United should be able to play in two or three competitions at once without sacrificing something, and they’ve clearly sacrificed the league. I don’t like it and I don’t agree with it and I believe there has to be some sort of standards required in a Premier League team. It’s almost as if they go into Premier League games and there’s an acceptance that they’re not going to win the game, which is madness. I think the acceptance has come from everyone.
I think it’s come from the manager even though he won’t admit it. He’s not playing teams to win games of football in the league. I think even fans are thinking let’s get these league games out of the way because the league has been a disaster.
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They’re probably thinking: ‘Play whoever you want, we don’t care’. There's an acceptance to it which I think is wrong because the Premier League is your bread and butter. But if you’re going to get Champions League football by winning the Europa League, it'll all be forgotten, I hope.
There is that bad taste in your mouth that the Premier League form is so bad, and they might regret it next year. I think the manager should be using this time to learn how to win games when you’re not playing that well, because it’s going to happen again next year. I don’t think you can just switch a button next season and, all of a sudden, you’re going to see them play brilliantly in the league. I think it’s quite risky sacrificing the Premier League for the sake of Champions League football next year.
Man Utd must keep 'best player' Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes has to stay because he’s the best player. He’s involved in nearly everything that Manchester United do well. Sometimes there’s not a lot you can do when there’s such a big demand from the Saudi league, who would pay ridiculous money.
It’s quite clear that they need to keep him and build a team around him. It’s just whether they get the option to do that with having money to buy new players and adding space in the squad to bring new players in.
With the deals that the club have done in the last few years, it’s going to be very difficult for Amorim to get rid of people. If you get into the Champions League, it’s going to be quite easy to bring people in, but at the same time, you’ve got to get people out and that’s going to be the hardest part of his job.
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Man Utd 'know how to win trophies, Tottenham don't' - Scholes
Video credit: TNT Sports
How Amorim can learn from Arteta reign
I think Mikel Arteta has done an absolutely brilliant job at Arsenal since he first joined the club. He could possibly finish second for the third year in a row and I think Ruben Amorim can take a lot from what Arteta has done over these last five to six years at Arsenal.
Imagine if Amorim can get United up to second in the Premier League and into the semi-final of the Champions League in the next three or four years. I would swap United’s season this year for Arsenal’s campaign even if they go on and win the Europa League. All day long.
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Arsenal just need to get over that line. The next step for them is going on and winning a big one, and I don’t think they’re far off achieving that. We can all say they keep finishing second, but it’s a lot closer compared to where Man Utd are right now. I would like United to be in a position where they get the chance to "bottle it" if that makes sense.
It wouldn’t be a bad example for Amorim to take. He can have a look at Arsenal and just study what Arteta has done over recent years, and it might be the starting block for United. I believe once Man Utd can start finishing second and manage to make it into the Champions League semi-finals, they have the experience and history to go on and win it because they’ve proven they can do it. A team like Arsenal haven’t constantly proven that they can go and win big trophies year after year.
Arteta in 'similar' position to Southgate
Arteta now needs to prove that he can do the next bit, which is the most important, and that’s winning. I suppose he’s in a similar situation to Gareth Southgate with England. He had proven he could reach the semi-final and final, but winning just became a problem.
I see Arteta in that way as well. It’s alright saying that I’ve got a great team and they were the best team in the Champions League but you’ve got to get over that line at some point.
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When you face the big teams, you’ve got to go there and beat them and that’s what wins you titles and Champions Leagues - playing against the best and beating the best. They’ve got to that certain level where they’re competing with the best but not beating them on a regular basis, which is the next step for them. If he doesn’t do it in the next few years, I think there will be grumblings, but I don’t think they’ll be far away again next year.
How Yamal is different to Messi
From what we’ve seen, Lamine Yamal can be one of the very best, because he’s got absolutely everything. During that amazing semi-final, I was impressed with his passing, his weight of pass and the way he sees people.
I always said that when you are one on one with Lionel Messi, the biggest problem is that he’s quick, he can go left, right or through the middle, and it’s virtually impossible to defend against.
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Although Messi was quick over a short space of time, the difference with Yamal is that he can also run in behind and still be rapid – almost similar to Kylian Mbappe’s pace. It will be very difficult for him to reach Messi’s numbers, but I actually think he can play in the middle as well, which is where Messi gets most of his goals and assists.
He’s got great physique and still got time to grow into his body. To be 17-year-old with 100 games, 20+ goals and multiple assists to his name, he’s got the chance to be the very best and nobody will be surprised if that happens.
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Watch the Premier League and UEFA Champions League live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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