Patrice Evra has heaped praise on Arsenal as the Premier League leaders prepare to face Manchester United and says their superb start to the season is ‘scaring’ him.
The Gunners have enjoyed a perfect start to the 2022-23 campaign, winning their first five matches to climb to the top of the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta’s side, who finished fifth last season, will look to maintain this momentum when they travel to Old Trafford on Sunday.
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Erik ten Hag’s United suffered two disappointing defeats at the start of the campaign but are back on track after winning three matches in a row, most recently beating Leicester City on Thursday.
‘This game is the beauty of the Premier League and a tough one to predict,’ Evra told Betfair.
‘I think United will have to play in a similar way like they did against Liverpool, in that survival mode, they may even have to get some luck.
‘In that game against Liverpool, Klopp’s side had many chances to win the game but let’s give credit to United. Now, they don’t want to lose any games, they are putting their lives on the line to prevent conceding goals.
‘Arsenal are in great form, they are winning ugly games and that’s what is scaring me. Against Fulham, it wasn’t a good game but they won.
‘Let’s be clear, Arsenal fear Man United, there’s a massive history between the two. I used to call them “our babies”, now it’s the other way round and we’re looking more like the babies.
‘This is going to be a tough one and talking with my heart I’ll say United, but anything can happen.’
Manchester United legend Evra has been impressed by Jesus’ form and says he could ‘hurt’ his former club this weekend.
Evra added: ‘I’ve always been impressed with Gabriel Jesus. I think when he was playing with City there were too many stars and Aguero was still there too.
‘It was difficult for him, but you can see now that he is so happy to play every weekend, and when you allow him to play every weekend that’s when you see more of the real Gabriel Jesus.
‘He’s already a leader, not in the sense that he is going to shout at people, but with his movement, the way he keeps the ball and his goals.
‘That’s what has been missing. Even if he scored goals at City, I didn’t see that killer instinct. Now, playing at Arsenal he has that responsibility, and he needs to score.
‘It’s not as if things are fine if he doesn’t score, you can see now that people will blame him if he’s not scoring and he’s taking that responsibility with a smile and happiness.
‘This is really dangerous. When a player plays with that kind of positivity, smile and happiness, he can hurt you.’
