Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praised his side for their improved performance against Arsenal following their midweek loss to Sheffield United, but thought they were better than Arsenal despite sharing the points.
United lost 2-1 to the Blades, and a draw on Saturday night allowed Manchester City to pull four points clear at the top of the Premier League.
The away side arguably had the best chances, but Arsenal hit the woodwork and went close through Emile Smith Rowe. Speaking after the match, Solskjaer praised his players for an improved showing.
“I was impressed with the performance,” he said.
“I thought we approached the game in the right manner, came here [and] dominated the first half, had the majority of the possession, some big chances – in the second half, especially. Marcus had one in the first half as well, and we just lacked that little bit of clinical finishing.
“We’ll get them going again definitely. I felt in control; of course, they have a free-kick that hits the crossbar, but apart from that, you feel in control. They had another shot that David saved that’s never going to bother him anyway, but we created chances and crosses as we said [we would] before the game. I thought they followed the plan, and [there was] good quality by Aaron down the side, Luke down the side – unfortunately, we just couldn’t score the goal.
“We’ve been consistent. We’re traveling. We’re staying together. They prepare well. The mood in the camp is good. In the hotel, we’re ready for the games and 18 games? That’s an achievement in itself, so hopefully, we can make it a longer one.”
After two defensive errors allowed Sheffield United the win earlier in the week, the Norwegian was happy with a tighter performance.
“I felt that we controlled the game, and of course, a free-kick that hits the crossbar can always go in, but apart from that, I didn’t think they bothered us too much,” he claimed.
“We were a little bit passive outside the box – they had a few too many shots. But David [de Gea] wouldn’t be bothered by too many of them.”