Arteta left fuming after Manu U draw all but ends Arsenal’s title hopes

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was visibly agitated after his team could only salvage a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in a result that critics said might have sounded the death knell of his team's Premier League chances.

With 10 matches left to play, second-placed Arsenal trail leaders Liverpool by a huge 15 points, albeit with a game in hand.

Arteta, who stomped away from a postgame television interview, rued the fact that Declan Rice's second-half strike was their only goal against a struggling United side that are languishing in 14th place in the table.

“Very frustrating we haven't won with the dominance and the chances we had in the first half. We gave the ball away out of nothing. Gave a foul away. We had them in the second half, you could feel they were really fatigued,” Arteta said.

“It was the threat in the final 25 metres to make something happen. They didn't want to play. You come here and you want to win the game. Today, it is frustration.”

Critics were quick to say the draw spelt the unofficial end of Arsenal's hopes of winning their first league title since 2004.

“You've got to have cutting edge, cutting edge is very important,” former United captain Roy Keane said on Sky Sports. “Forget Liverpool and we'll be all right.”

Rice and Arteta were asked about Bruno Fernandes' goal from a free kick after the United midfielder said: “It helps that the wall was about 15m back”.

Rules stipulate the wall must be at least 10m back.

“I've not seen the goal back,” Rice said. “It felt like the ball flew over us at a low height. [The wall] did feel far back. Anthony [Taylor] is the ref, he makes that decision.”

Arteta added: “Football is for a smart street players, and if [Fernandes] has done that and capitalised on that, he is more clever than us and the referee.

“It was a goal, so they took advantage of that. Football is for clever people.” 

Reuters