Former Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna believes Leny Yoro would be flourishing had he chosen the Gunners instead of Manchester United in 2024.

Manchester United signed Yoro from Lille two years ago in a £52m deal as the club looked to strengthen the long-term future of their defence.

Yoro had made only 60 appearances for Lille before completing his move to Old Trafford, and the France Under-21 international has found it difficult to establish himself as a regular under Ruben Amorim and now new head coach Michael Carrick.

The 20-year-old has started 30 of his 55 Premier League games for Manchester United since arriving, and this season he has managed only two substitute appearances in the league under Carrick.

Yoro has slipped behind the experienced central defensive partnership of Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez, and Sagna has pointed to Manchester United as the reason behind the young defender’s difficult beginning at Old Trafford.

Sagna told Action Network: “He is another top player but he came to a sick team. When he joined, the team was sick.

“So yes I would love to see him perform well when everyone else is doing well but they started badly.

“You know when the team is not in form, to shine individually is more difficult. It’s not impossible because Bruno Fernandes proved it.

“But if the whole team is struggling and the team is sick, then there’s a higher chance you get sick too and in trouble.

“You’re going to have times over the course of the season where it’s going to be tougher for you because you’re going to get exposed as a defender.”

Sagna feels Yoro would already be standing out if the Manchester United centre-back had joined Arsenal in 2024, when the Gunners were moving in a very different direction from the Red Devils.

The former Arsenal defender added: “He’s a nice prospect, an amazing player.

“If he came to Arsenal and Arsenal were shining, he would probably have been shining too.

“So it’s not only about the quality of the player, it’s also about how the team is performing at that time. I think hopefully United as a team will bounce back and Yoro will have a good season because he’s a top player.”

Yoro has also been deployed as a back-up option at right-back, but Manchester United legend Gary Neville believes he should only be used in central defence.

Neville said on The Overlap: “I don’t think he understands right-back, which is fine, a lot of centre-backs don’t.

“But we’ve got to stop bringing him on there and thinking he’s a right-back.

“My feeling is Michael Carrick maybe sees him as a more defensive right-back option, similar to what Liverpool did with Ronald Araujo given their issues at right-back.”