ESPN FC's Steve Nicol calls Man United's defence a 'disaster area,' and doesn't expect them to be able to stop Arsenal.
Ander Herrera is unequivocal when asked about Marcus Rashford, his Manchester United teammate."Marcus is going to be one of the best English players ever," Herrera tells ESPN FC. "I speak with Juan [Mata] about him and he agrees. Marcus has everything. Everyone knows that he's fantastic one against one; that he can score and head the ball well. He's dynamic in his game, but the most important thing for me is the way he reacts when the team doesn't have the ball, the way he defends and helps the team."
Though he has no doubt about the future, Herrera also sounds a note of caution regarding the teenage striker.
"We are all going to enjoy watching Marcus grow as a player but people have to be patient with him," says Herrera. "He's still only 19 and he's going to have bad moments because he's so young. You can't expect him to score 35 goals just because he had a great start to his United career. Young players have to work towards consistency, but he's at a great club under a great manager who likes him."
Players tease the softly-spoken Rashford about how much money he's going to earn, while United's coaches have long thought that he had what it takes to reach the first team; the only surprise was how quickly he did it and how he took his chance, in an injury-hit United side, on his Premier League debut against Arsenal in February.
His success continued through the rest of the 205-16 season: As the only Mancunian on the pitch, he netted the winner in a Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium and then scored the best goal of his career so far to seal victory at West Ham in the FA Cup.
"It was right in front of thousands of United fans too," Rashord said with a smile when I asked him about it during the summer. "I really liked Upton Park. There was a top atmosphere there. That's the best place I've played so far."
West Ham's old home is the past; Rashford is the future. He celebrated that goal with his favourite meal of chicken and rice, made by his mum. He reckons he'd eat it every day if she cooked it.
United made several big-money buys in the summer and Rashford was on the bench for the opening four Premier League games of the season. But then he had a run of six straight league starts, usually on the left of an attacking trio in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
He has not scored four times in all but hasn't netted since a 4-1 win against Leicester City in September. Coaches stress the important of work ethic as they develop his game, although playing wide in a low scoring team has limited his chances.
"When I see him with the ball at his feet, particularly when he plays on the left, I think he'll develop his decision-making quality from that side," Gary Neville tells ESPN FC.
"But I'd like him to be more direct and drive in towards the goal and the near post," continues Neville. "It'd be good to see him getting defenders on the back foot and committing people to penalties. I'd also like to see him run between the full-back and centre-back without the ball, but these are minor technical points, which will improve with exposure to Jose [Mourinho] and the other coaches."
Whatever happens in the next six weeks, 2016 has been a spectacular year for Rashford, both at club and international level. And now it's back to Arsenal, who feature Laurent Koscielny, the defender Rashford considers to have been his toughest opponent so far.
Neville, the former United defender who was England's assistant manager when Rashford was given his debut in May, is confident the young man will cope.
"Rashford's temperament is wonderful and he's unaffected by big games and unaffected by the presence of other big individuals around him. He believes that he should be on the pitch and has taken to the big stage like a duck to water with an incredible start to his United career.
"The challenge for Rashford is that he's got to display his personality and character more on the pitch. I like the tranquillity of his temperament, but want to see a bit more devil in him, that cuteness that you sense the great strikers have with the clever nudges off the ball, the slyness that [Ruud] Van Nistelrooy had. This is not a criticism because he's so young and has time to see it as a challenge to get better and get the cuteness with experience."
There's also room for improvement from a technical perspective, says Neville.
"But overall it's a brilliant story that United have produced a striker who is one their own. I was hugely disappointed that Daniel Welbeck left and I'm glad Marcus Rashford has come through. His consistency will come with age and experience."
The demands, expectations and scrutiny will remain very high.
"It's not easy to be a striker when you play for Manchester United," adds Neville. "You've got to be a special player and I think Marcus Rashford is that."
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