A key reason why United were eager to appoint Erik ten Hag back in April was so that they would hit the ground running in the summer transfer window, but that hasn't really gone according to plan.
Ten Hag warned last week that United would not move for just anyone in the summer window, reiterating that it was better to sign nobody than to sign the wrong player before deadline day. Then it is hypocrisy to chase the divisive duo.
There can be no disputing the fact that United are short on options and in need of extra quality in their squad, but there is no long-term plan in signing a 33-year-old forward and a midfielder who Juventus have struggled to shift all summer.
Rabiot certainly has some redeeming features in that he featured 45 times for the Turin club last season, has won six league titles in his senior career and is a versatile option. However, he, like Arnautovic, has always been followed by controversy in his career and is not the obvious fit for a dressing room that is focusing on unity under Ten Hag.
One instance saw Paris Saint-Germain conduct an internal investigation into Rabiot’s conduct after a video emerged online showing the midfielder in a nightclub just hours after the French side had been knocked out of the Champions League by United, and he also 'liked' a social media post from Patrice Evra celebrating the result.
Last summer, Arnautovic took to social media to insist he was 'not a racist' after he celebrated scoring Austria's third goal during their 3-1 win over North Macedonia at Euro 2020.
It was alleged he used an anti-Albanian slur towards opposition player Egzon Bejtulai, before the former West Ham forward was then pictured engaging in a heated exchange with Bejtulai's team-mate Gjanni Alioski. Both Bejtulai and Alioski have Albanian roots. Arnautovic plays for Austria but his father is Serbian, and tensions between Serbia and Albania are historically high. A subsequent investigation saw Arnautovic banned from the next game for insulting another player.
So often in the past, United have become overly obsessed with the playing potential of new signings rather than taking one step back to look at how they might fit into the club.
This summer, they risk undoing all of their hard work by signing players who will disrupt the squad ethos and whose personality characteristics have not been properly considered.
If there is one team that should know better, it is United, but if there is one club naïve enough to fall for the same mistakes again, it is also United.
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