Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says that his match played well in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United, but could easily have losed.
The Gunners fought back from a goal after Bruno Fernandes scored a free kick in the break.
Declan Rice curled a beautiful strike in the post before he chose the old traffic, but the second placed side of the Premier League had to settle for a point.
And there was a huge opportunity for the hosts to win it at the end of the game, but for a David Raya Save, not his first of the afternoon.
After the game, Arteta said: “When we had the first half we had where we were exceptional, we did not test the keeper.
“We had some incredible situations, but we didn’t get the last shot or the last pass. We have not capitalized, we rushed the game, we started to lose duels and we could have losing it.
“The performance must be with the right player and the right player to photograph. How we admitted [chances] At certain times it was not acceptable. They have so much quality and choose the right player and normally that would end in a goals.
“We have opened the gate to lose the game. There was no chance to lose the game and we opened it ourselves. I will defend my players all the time, but at those moments we have to do better. “
“It was a bit stupidity of us.”
Declan Rice responds to the 1-1 draw of Arsenal at Man Utd 🔊 pic.twitter.com/jcyxqi7pyg
– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportspl) March 9, 2025
Rice reflected the thoughts of his manager and admitted that they played well in spells, but in the end the draw was a reasonable result.
The midfielder of England added that although Arsenal is now 15 points behind Liverpool in the title race, they continue to push until the end of the season.
He said: “In the first half we had some beautiful pieces playing, but we didn’t have that advanced edge. In the second half we were very naive and we almost gave the game to Man United. To return to the game and to score and keep pushing. It is probably a reasonable point in the end.
“We scored seven midweek and that is not lucky. PSV was not lost at home for two years. Man United did well and was good in the low block. It can take 90 minutes to break it down. There was not much in the game.
“I didn’t see the goal again. It felt like the ball was flying over us at a low height. It [the wall for the free-kick] Felt far back. Anthony [Taylor] Is the ref, he makes that decision.
“I was happy. I think it’s a bit of football crazy between me and the fans. It is an area that I want to keep coming in and I have made more opportunities. I have to keep adding goals. The manager wants to play me at number eight to add goals and assists.
“At the end with Bruno and David who makes two major saves, so I say that naivety. It was up to us and we could have throw the game away.
“As the manager said, we will continue until the end of the season. Liverpool has been great all year round. We are Arsenal. We were hit hard by injuries. We keep going and we’ll be fine. “
