London: Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince has suggested that Newcastle United’s Joey Barton is not good enough to fill the void left at Old Trafford by the retired Paul Scholes – but could be an ideal signing for Arsenal.
Speculation is rife that Ince’s former club is looking for another central midfielder to replace Scholes and Barton has been linked with the red half of Manchester.
But Ince believes the 28-year-old would be much better suited to Arsenal, who many believe have lacked a strong, combative presence since Patrick Vieira’s departure in 2005.
"There’re not many players that are good enough for Old Trafford," Ince told talkSPORT. "Joey Barton excelled himself for Newcastle last season but whether he's a Manchester United player, I'm not too sure. He's not good enough to replace Paul Scholes, that's for sure.
"I'd say Joey Barton would be better for Arsenal. If you look at where Arsenal struggled last year, it was in the physicality of the Premier League, when they go to teams like Stoke and Blackburn.
"They need a digger in there who can get around and break up play. I think he'd be more suited to Arsenal than he would Manchester United."
United have already spent close to £50 million this summer on goalkeeper David de Gea, defender Phil Jones and attacker Ashley Young, and Ince believes that his former manager is unlikely to steer the ship off course this season.
"Sir Alex (Ferguson) has got a great knack of knowing when it’s time to make changes, taking out the old senior pros and starting to build again," he added.
"Phil Jones I remember at Blackburn. He was a great talent then as a young kid and he's one for the future, as is [Chris] Smalling. [Javier] Hernandez is going to get better. Nani seems to have the bit between his teeth in pre-season.
"They've got enough quality in that team to win the league again next year. And I don’t think the spending is over yet. I think he's talking about bringing in another one or two. He very rarely gets it wrong, Sir Alex."
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