Frustrated Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta refuses to concede defeat in the Premier League title race despite a 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday that left his side 15 points behind leaders Liverpool.
The Gunners dropped points for a third successive game, adding to a 1-0 home defeat to West Ham and a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest a setback on protest day at Old Trafford.
Arsenal dominated the first half but paid for their lack of attacking edge when Bruno Fernandes converted a free-kick in stoppage time.
A Declan Rice goal and several key saves from David Rai in the second half saw them draw 1-1, but Arne Sloth's Reds' title push did not slow them down.
“Our performance in the last 20 metres was not good enough today,” Arteta said. “We understand that because for the important parts and a lot of aspects that the game requires, especially at Old Trafford, we performed brilliantly.
“But ultimately, when a team is dominant and significantly superior to the opponent, you have to take advantage of it, and today we didn’t do that.
“Then you have to overturn the result, and we know how difficult it is to do that here, and you have to open up a little bit more because it requires more risk. The game could have gone the other way in the last minutes.”
Asked at a press conference if the title race was over, the Arsenal manager, who left the room after being asked a similar question in an interview with Sky Sports, replied: “I don't want to talk about it but the disappointment today is that we didn't get any wins.”
“We understand the urgency and we need to win every game if we want to have any chance of success. I don't think now is the right time to discuss this.”
Arteta also became more candid about Fernandes' free-kick, expressing doubts over the position it was taken from.
“If Bruno has that view then football is a game for street smart players and if he did that and benefited from it then he was smarter than us and smarter than the referee (Anthony Taylor),” Arteta said.
“I don't know, but he did it, it was a goal and they took advantage of it. Football is for smart players.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
