Manchester United ’s recruitment of Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been labelled a gamble.
Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has questioned whether the veteran striker, 34, will cope with the physical nature of the Premier League.
And the Frenchman also has delivered a back-handed a swipe at Reds captain Wayne Rooney.
Petit, who won the Premier League with Arsenal in 1998, has hinted he thinks Ibrahimovic could be too old to make a significant impact at Old Trafford.
“Maybe Ibra can bring a different touch, but he’s not the player that I was expecting at Manchester United, to be honest,” said Petit, who also starred for Chelsea.
“Maybe I’m mistaken – I don’t know. I think it’s a bit of a gamble.”
Petit feels the presence at Old Trafford of Rooney - also reaching his veteran years - places a further question mark against Ibrahimovic’s suitability.
He added: “There’s already an emblematic player [at United] who’s starting to drag his weight around the pitch a little bit – Wayne Rooney – in a very physical league, where it’s often box-to-box and where you really ask your forwards to have a physical dimension.”
Ibrahimovic had his medical at Carrington on Friday after announcing his arrival at United via his Instagram account on Thursday.
His message read: “Time to let the world know. My next destination is Manchester United. I am coming.”
Watch: Zlatan have a dig at City