Erik ten Hag has hinted that he wishes so Manchester United had signed Declan Rice instead of Arsenal last summer.
The England midfielder has been one of Mikel Arteta's key players this season, featuring in all 36 of Arsenal's Premier League games.
On Thursday, Rice, who joined Arsenal in a A £100 million transfer from West Ham last summer – was shortlisted for the Premier League Player of the Year award.
Arsenal faced competition from title rivals Manchester City in the battle to sign Rice and Ten Hag has suggested he wishes his own club were also involved in the transfer battle.
Manchester United spent more than £150 million on new signings last summer – bringing Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund to Old Trafford – but were not among the top candidates to sign Rice, despite his long-term interest in the midfielder.
Asked about Rice as a player and whether he would have liked to have him in his United squad, Ten Hag said: 'He is a very good player. He absolutely would have fit in here.”
United are seven places and 29 points behind Arsenal as the two Premier League giants prepare for their meeting at Old Trafford this weekend.
Assessing Arsenal, who are challenging for their first title in 20 years, Ten Hag added: 'We go into every game wanting to win, we don't prepare for the next game.
'Of course it's in the back of my mind [FA Cup final] but I want to put a team that wants to win and we pick the best team for Sunday to win that game.
'I'm not taking big risks with players now to win on Sunday, with the risk of them dropping out again, but if you have a cup final the situation is not that different.
'Arsenal is one of the best teams or probably the best team, is it City or Arsenal? Very ball safe, very good structures. We know we have to play at our maximum level to get a result, but we are capable of doing that.'
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has meanwhile urged his players to 'perform at a high level' as they look to improve on their dismal record at Old Trafford.
“Every game has a different context,” Arteta said. 'We know our history [at Old Trafford] how we did there, so we'll have to be at our best to win the game.
'We know what we have to do, but first we have to perform at a high level to win the match. That's where the focus is.'
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