Mikel Arteta is not giving up hope that Arsenal can catch runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool
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and PA Chief Football Writer
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side now find themselves 15 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side now find themselves 15 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool
(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Frustrated Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta refused to concede the Premier League title despite Sunday's 1-1 draw at Manchester United. The result left 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 United and 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest were compounded on a day of protest at Old Trafford.
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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.
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Declan Rice's strike and some key David Raya saves in the second half saw the second-placed Gunners leave with a 1-1 draw, which does little to stop Liverpool 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 the title race is over in the press conference, having walked out when asked the same question by Sky Sports, the former Everton midfielder, said: "I don't want to say that, but today the frustration is that we haven't won a game.
"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."
Arsenal have the chance to cut the gap on Liverpool to 12 points by winning their game in hand at home to fourth-placed Chelsea on Sunday.
On the same afternoon Arne Slot's table-toppers will aim to lift their first piece of silverware of the season when they take on Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.