Former Arsenal and England defender Martin Keown believes Harry Maguire has become a scapegoat at Manchester United - pointing to midfield as the heart of the issue.
Maguire has endured a torrid time at United since the arrival of Erik ten Hag last summer. The 30-year-old was almost instantly shipped out of the starting line-up after a nightmare start to the campaign.
The England international has often come in for criticism over the last 12 months, some of which has been unfair. Maguire's first appearance of the season came off the bench against Arsenal, but United have continued to struggle defensively with or without him.
And Keown believes the former Leicester man is an easy target for problems occurring further forward. ALSO READ: Amrabat starts and Mount in new role - United might have new big game tactic "I do feel he [Maguire] gets a lot of unfair criticism," Keown told talkSPORT. "I do feel he's a scapegoat for the Manchester United supporters. "I do feel that things have not got much better since he has come out of the team.