Mikel Arteta provided a significant response during a press conference regarding the title race after his Arsenal team relinquished vital points in their match against Manchester United. With only 10 games left in the league season, the Gunners find themselves 15 points adrift of the dominant leaders, Liverpool, following a lackluster 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. Declan Rice equalized with an impressive strike in the 74th minute, canceling out Bruno Fernandes’ initial goal. However, despite a strong start, Arsenal faltered in the latter part of the match and could have easily left with no points.
In his post-match discussion with Sky Sports, a visibly frustrated Mikel Arteta began the interview by lamenting the opportunities that were squandered.
“When we had the first half that we had where we were exceptional, we didn’t test the keeper,” he said. “We had some unbelievable situations, but we didn’t get the last shot or the last pass. We didn’t capitalise, we rushed the game.”
Arteta would eventually walk out of the interview with Patrick Davison after being asked about Arsenal’s fading title hopes.
But later on – in his post-match press conference – the Spaniard was once again prodded for his take on the title race by a reporter, who asked: “I know you’ll always fight to the end but deep down, do you feel the title race is over?”
On this occasion, Arteta responded with a telling answer.
“I don’t want to say that but today the frustration is that we haven’t won our game,” he said. “We know the urgency and you’re obligated to win every single match. You won’t have any chance without doing that. I don’t think it’s the right moment to talk about that.”
Arteta also addressed a significant topic arising from Sunday’s match – the positioning of Arsenal’s wall during Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick.
Following the successful conversion by the Portuguese midfielder from a distance, broadcast technology revealed that referee Anthony Taylor had directed the Arsenal defensive line to stand 11.2 yards away, exceeding the minimum requirement of 10 yards.
“He’s been smart and he took advantage, that is football,” Arteta said. “He’s been smarter than the ref. That’s OK, they allowed him to do it.”
Christian Eriksen would later explain how 1.2 yards can be crucial when it comes to taking free-kicks.
“It makes a very big difference,” he told Sky Sports. “When the ball is over the wall you don’t need to hit it as high – going down to statistics and how far they are back and how many metres and how they jump. So it’s easier and it gives Bruno a bit more space to put it over the wall.
“It was very good. It helped that the wall was about 15 metres away, so it was perfect for him to put it over.”