Why this £80,000-a-week Red Devil should ignore Chelsea and Arsenal interest to stay put at Old Trafford

Chelsea or Arsenal – Where should this Manchester United superstar go?

London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal are set to go head-to-head in a battle to land Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw over the summer. The defender was believed to be in talks with the club over extending his contract but it seems like they are yet to reach a conclusion.

With his contract set to run out soon, it is not surprising to see interest from other clubs. Both teams from London could add value by bringing in a player like Shaw but if the situation does come to this, which team should he choose?

Shaw has had a rather topsy-turvy tenure with United so far. When he joined from Southampton, fans were ecstatic and he was brought in to act as the ultimate solution to their left-back problems – an area they struggled with ever since the departure of Patrice Evra.

Despite showing initial promise, Shaw succumbed to a terrible injury and was out of action for a very long time. In fact, it was only recently that Jose Mourinho started handing him chances and he has done quite well to grasp those opportunities.

However, with contract talks at a standstill, Shaw must utilize this time to make up his mind regarding the future. He could either choose to stay back and play as United’s long-term first-choice player in that area or he could start afresh with a clean slate at either Arsenal or Chelsea.

From what we have seen so far, the player did seem committed to Old Trafford but given the uncertainty of the last few transfer windows, one can never be too sure.

Moving to Arsenal would mean that Shaw will have to compete with the likes of Sead Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Technically, the latter is not a left-back but he has done well to deputize in that role.

Hence, if Shaw were to join, Kolasinac would be his direct competition and in terms of the pecking order for the role of the left-back, Maitland-Niles might come in third place, which is fine since he is not a natural in that position. However, moving to the Gunners would mean having to forego the chance of playing in the Champions League.

On the flipside, defending champions Chelsea seem like an attractive place but one must bear in mind that they already have the prolific Marcos Alonso, along with January arrival Emerson Palmieri.

The former Roma star was brought in for the sole purpose of playing second fiddle to Alonso and if Shaw were to move to Stamford Bridge, he will do so at the risk of being the third-choice left-back. While making a move for him will benefit Chelsea, it might not be the best decision for Shaw since it won’t guarantee him adequate game time.

In such a situation, there are pros and cons to joining either side, thus making a strong case for Shaw to renew his £80,000-a-week United contract. However, we have a long way to go before the end of the season and it remains to be seen how things pan out.