Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer believes Mason Greenwood deserves his first-team chance at Manchester United.

But the Geordie has warned the teenager over the pressures of Premier League stardom.

With Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford both struggling for fitness while midfielder Paul Pogba is carrying an ankle problem, United's options are again stretched ahead of Monday night's Premier League match against Arsenal.

Writing in his column for The Sun, Shearer said: "Greenwood was always going to get his chance somewhere along the season, but United have struggled so it's not exactly like he is going into a great team.

"It's a huge opportunity for him to stake a claim and I have no doubt he will relish it. I burst onto the scene at 17, scoring a hat-trick on my full debut for Southampton in 1988, ironically against Arsenal.

"All of a sudden you're on the TV and the back pages of newspapers. I found it difficult after – I was no longer the kid who had scored goals in the reserves but a kid who had just scored a hat-trick on his debut against Arsenal.

"Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has spoken very highly of his finishing and the two he has scored have been decent goals. He will enjoy being talked about in such a complimentary way – it's what you want. Only time will tell if he needs to be taken out of the team for a spell."