Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-1 in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday
Friday 25 January 2019 22:58, UK
Ray Parlour thinks Paul Pogba is playing like a "free spirit" under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and could be a future captain for Manchester United.
Pogba appears to have been revitalised by United's decision to bring in Solskjaer as caretaker manager to replace Jose Mourinho.
The midfielder has been United's standout player over the last month as they have won eight games in a row, including a 3-1 victory at Arsenal in the FA Cup on Friday.
Solskjaer said ahead of the match that Pogba has the qualities to captain United, and former Arsenal midfielder Parlour agreed.
Speaking on The Debate, he said: "He's a World Cup winner, you respect him as a player, and now he is playing to his potential.
"I didn't see that at the start of the season. Every week it was always about Pogba and why he wasn't performing, but he looks like he is a free spirit now.
"Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said straight away, 'when I had him in the reserves I knew exactly how to play him - free spirit, get him forward as much as you can and make things happen for us'.
"I am sure Manchester United will be saying, 'why didn't we make the change sooner' because it has been such a big turnaround, not just for him, but for a lot of the players.
"I can certainly see him as a skipper. Central midfield is such an important position."
Pogba did captain United earlier in the season, only to then be relieved of his duties by Mourinho.
However, former Manchester United forward Andrew Cole said Pogba is proving he can lead the team.
"If you look at the France team they believe in him immensely. Do I think he could captain Manchester United? Yes. He did that in early parts of the season under Jose Mourinho. The way he lost the captaincy I think was a case of the power struggle between Mourinho and Pogba.
"But Ole looks at it in a totally different way. He has known him since he was a kid and knows he is good enough to captain Manchester United, but his performances now are proving he can. He has been instrumental in turning things around and going on this good run."
