LONDON, September 3 (Reuters) – Manchester United’s manager, Erik ten Hag, expressed his frustration after his team’s dramatic 3-1 loss to Arsenal in North London on Sunday, claiming that luck was not on their side.
The match seemed destined for a 1-1 draw until Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus scored for Arsenal in injury time. United had believed they were on the path to victory when Alejandro Garnacho netted in the 88th minute, only for VAR to rule it out for offside, a decision that left Ten Hag seething.
“We definitely need to improve,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports. “However, as we’ve seen last year and today, we are capable of defeating anyone. It was a matter of small margins today, and it could easily have gone our way. When Garnacho was finishing for what was disallowed, it could have been the goal that won us the game. That’s how close it was. We just needed a bit more luck to secure the win. Garnacho’s goal was not offside; it was the wrong angle,” he added in reference to the VAR review.
Ten Hag pointed out what he believed were late officiating errors, including a tackle by Arsenal defender Gabriel that brought down newcomer Rasmus Hojlund, which Ten Hag argued should have been a penalty. He also claimed that Gabriel appeared to impede Jonny Evans in the penalty area during Rice’s 96th-minute winner.
“It was a clear penalty on Hojlund,” Ten Hag fumed. “And, in the end, we conceded a goal, which was a foul on Jonny Evans. It was so evident and undeniable.”