Arsene Wenger believes it’s too soon to say if the influence Sir Alex Ferguson used to have on referees at Old Trafford has ended.

It is well known in the game that decisions were more than a little hard to come by at the so-called ‘Theatre of Dreams’ with the home side often being awarded dubious decisions while the away side were denied stonewall penalties.

Michael Oliver’s display in the FA Cup when the two sides met earlier this year came as a shock to many, mostly because he refused to buy dives from United players, booking them instead and sent Angel di Maria off for pulling his shirt.

It seemed to signal a change in times and many sides have seen decisions they would not have got previously being granted since their legendary manager retired – Liverpool’s three penalties in March last year a prime example.

Asked if he thought Ferguson’s influence on the officials had waned, Wenger said “It’s too short a time to say if that has ended.

“If you ask me if it has changed, your statement will be it existed before — and we agree on that.”