Bruno Fernandes scored the goal for Man Utd in their Premier League draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford but it was a controversial moment.
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Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes scores a free-kick against Arsenal at Old Trafford
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said Bruno Fernandes outsmarted his team and referee Anthony Taylor by giving himself extra room to get his free-kick over the wall and beyond David Raya.
Fernandes' superb strike gave Manchester United the lead just before half-time at Old Trafford but TV analysis showed the Arsenal wall had been more than 11 yards back when the Portuguese took the set-piece.
The 30-year-old capitalised on Raya leaving a large gap to his left to score in front of the Stretford End, only for Declan Rice to equalise in the second half and ensure the points were shared.
Taylor moving the Arsenal wall back further than the required distance has become a significant talking point, but in his post-match press conference Arteta suggested that Fernandes had actually moved the ball back while the wall was being set, creating that larger gap himself which he then exploited perfectly.
"They just mentioned that 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," he said.
Asked if Fernandes should have been allowed to do that, Arteta again heaped praise on the United skipper.
"I don't know, but he's done it, it was a goal, so they took advantage of that. Football is for clever people," he added.
The draw leaves United 14th in the Premier League table on 34 points with ten games of the season remaining. United's next game sees them face Real Sociedad in the second leg of their last-16 Europa League tie.