Gary Neville names 2 players Manchester United should’ve signed to compete with Arsenal and Man City

Gary Neville has said that Manchester United should have signed players like Harry Kane and Declan Rice if they wanted to compete with Arsenal and Manchester City this season.

The Red Devils are off to a poor start this season and sit 13th in the table with six points from five games. They ended the summer transfer window after spending around £183.5 million on incomings (h/t Sky Sports).

Rasmus Hojlund was the pick of the bunch while Sofyan Amrabat, Andre Onana and Mason Mount also joined Erik ten Hag's squad. But Neville believes the Red Devils needed to make a statement signing in attack and in midfield to challenge for the title.

Arsenal spent £105 million to sign 24-year-old West Ham United skipper Declan Rice. Bayern Munich, meanwhile, splashed around £86.4 million to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur, who is second on the list of Premier League's all-time top-scorers.

After the 3-1 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex on Saturday (16 September), Neville said (@UtdXclusive on X):

"I never thought for one second they would challenge Manchester City and Arsenal from the players that they brought in. That would have needed a Harry Kane-type signing or Declan Rice, as an example. They didn't have the money to do those types of signings. They're not very good at the moment."

Hojlund, 20, had to wait until September to make his debut for Manchester United, which came in a 3-1 loss to Arsenal. He was handed his first start of the season in the loss against Brighton before being subbed off around the hour mark.

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Arsenal and Man City already have a strong lead over Manchester United

Manchester United have had a terrible start to the season with just six points from five games.

They have lost to Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Brighton while their wins against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest weren't convincing. The Red Devils haven't won the league title in over 10 years.

But last season's third-place finish was seen as a step in the right direction under Erik ten Hag. However, they haven't built on that yet and have a nine-point gap from the top of the table after just six gameweeks.

Manchester City are the only team to have won all of their five opening games. Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal are all tied on 13 points, with the Gunners in fourth due to an inferior goal difference.

Manchester United's next game is a UEFA Champions League group-stage clash against Bayern Munich on 20 September at the Allianz Arena. Just three days after that game, they travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley — a team they haven't lost to away from him in over 14 years.