Frustrated Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta refused to concede the Premier League title despite Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United leaving his side 15 points behind leaders Liverpool.
The Gunners dropped points for the third straight match as the 1-0 home loss to West Ham and 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest were compounded on a day of protest at Old Trafford.
Arsenal dominated the first half but were made to pay for their lack of attacking threat when Bruno Fernandes scored a stoppage-time free-kick.
Declan Rice’s strike and some key David Raya saves in the second half saw them leave with a 1-1 draw, which does little to stop Arne Slot’s relentless Reds marching towards the title.
“Today the efficiency we had in the last 20 metres wasn’t good enough,” Arteta said. “We know that because for big parts, a lot of things that the game demands when you come to Old Trafford, we did superb.
“But at the end you have to capitalise on that when the team is so dominant and much better than opposition, and today we didn’t.
“Then you have to overturn a result, which we know how difficult it is to do that here and you have to expose yourself a little more because you have to take more risks as well. Then the game could have gone the other way in the last few minutes.”
Asked if he the title race is over in the press conference, having walked out when asked the same question by Sky Sports, the Arsenal boss said: “I don’t want to say that, but today the frustration is that we haven’t won a game.
Mikel Arteta hurried out of his post-match interview when asked if the 15-point gap to Liverpool was "too much". pic.twitter.com/VSs9uQWjdg
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 9, 2025
“We know the urgency and we are obligated to win every single match if you want to have any chance of doing that. I don’t think it’s the right moment to talk about that anyway.”
Arteta was more forthcoming about Fernandes’ free-kick as he appeared to question the position it was taken from.
“If Bruno is on that, football is for smart, street players and if he’s done that and capitalised on that, he was more clever than us and the referee (Anthony Taylor),” Arteta said.
“I don’t know, but he’s done it, it was a goal, so they took advantage of that. Football is for clever people.”
Ruben Amorim was delighted with Fernandes’ impact in terms of the goal, his leadership and ongoing availability for a game threadbare United headed into with 11 absentees.
“I think he steps up all the time,” said the head coach, who hopes Manuel Ugarte could return for Thursday’s Europa League last-16 second leg against Real Sociedad but admits Leny Yoro needs assessing.
“Sometimes he can show some frustration in some moments that can hurt him more than anybody and I understand that. He wants to win.
“But he is always available, always there to play in different positions and when we sometimes need a goal, a free-kick, an assist, he is always there.
“He does some mistakes, that’s normal, but he’s a very good example for the other players.
“What I can say is that we need more Brunos. That is clear. Not just the quality, the character and the availability in this league is so important and he is so decisive with and without the ball.”
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