Paul Scholes believes that Manchester United are still playing too many passes under Louis van Gaal, and that his former club will only win the Premier League title if both Manchester and Arsenal slip up.
United earned a late 2-1 win at Watford on Saturday, with both Arsenal and City losing later in the day to see Van Gaal's side finish the weekend second -- a point behind leaders Leicester City.
BT Sport released statistics before the game which showed United had made an average of 47 passes for every shot -- the highest in the league -- and Scholes says that must change if they are to mount a serious title challenge.
Speaking before Saturday's victory at Vicarage Road, Scholes said: "That says everything about them and is typical of the way Manchester United have played this season.
"[There are] too many passes before getting into the final third, which is why the forwards like Wayne Rooney have struggled. They don't get the service.
"Are they good enough to go on and win the league? I'm not 100 percent convinced -- I think Manchester City and Arsenal would have to struggle with injuries and form.
"That says everything about them and is typical of the way Manchester United have played this season."
Scholes has criticised Van Gaal's tactics this season, with the Dutch coach in turn telling the former Old Trafford midfielder not to vent his frustrations in public.
But Scholes maintained that United's style -- which has seen them earn the best defensive record in the top flight while scoring just 19 goals in 13 games -- is stifling creative players like Bastian Schweinsteiger, whose injury-time cross deflected off Watford's Troy Deeney to earn United the win against Watford.
"The two central midfielders play 10 yards behind the centre-halves and play easy passes," Scholes added. "Schweinsteiger constantly ends up in the left-back position.
"I don't mind that, getting a bit of space if you're going to play it forward or hit a long pass, but he takes too many touches and he's constantly coming back inside. Schweinsteiger claps a backpass to the goalkeeper and he plays every week, so the manager must be happy with the way they play.
"You expect more from Schweinsteiger, a player who's won the World Cup and the Champions League. The biggest art as a midfield player is to find space -- not in your back four or left-back position -- [but] in the centre of the park where it's most congested, and contribute to your forward players.
"Defensively they're brilliant, and that's because they're not contributing going forward."