Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has questioned whether Manchester United can handle the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
"The question this season is who will cope the best with what has happened during this transfer market. Let's make sure it is us," he told Arsenal's official magazine.
"The big task for United is replacing the goals that Cristiano Ronaldo scored over the last few seasons.
"You can say whatever you like about Ronaldo, but you have to admit he had two fantastic qualities.
"Firstly, he was never injured. Secondly, he put the ball in the back of the net.
"I'm surprised that they didn't reinvest more of the money they got for Ronaldo, but they may do that in January.
"Manchester United, of course, will continue to be a major force in the championship, but you can see that where we drew four times 0-0, they won them 1-0, sometimes because Ronaldo made the difference.
"Michael Owen is worth a gamble I think, because he can be an impact player. Also you would hope that he can put his injury problems behind him at some stage.
"I don't believe he can ever be back to his complete best, but even if he gets to 95 per cent of what he was before, he will be a fantastic player."