Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta didn’t offer much comment on the controversial nature of Manchester United’s goal during Sunday’s 1-1 draw but still managed to show his displeasure.
Bruno Fernandes fired United into a lead in first-half stoppage time at Old Trafford from a free-kick, at which the Arsenal wall was measured at 11.2 yards from the ball as it was struck. The distance enforced by referee Anthony Taylor was viewed as excessive, even if it wasn’t drastically different to the usual ‘minimum’ ten yards.
Arteta told Sky Sports that Fernandes had simply been clever about the situation and that the officials “allowed” it to happen. “He’s been smart and he took advantage, that is football. He’s been smarter than the ref. That’s okay, they allowed him to do it,” the Arsenal boss said.
United midfielder Christian Eriksen said it was “beneficial” to the home side, although his estimation of the wall’s distance was off the mark.
“Happy that the wall was about 15 metres away so it was perfect for him to put it over,” Eriksen said. “It was beneficial for us. It makes a very, very big difference. You don’t need to hit it as high, it’s easier and gives Bruno a bit more space to hit it over the wall.”
Gunners counterpart Declan Rice suggested it wasn’t that big of a deal, placing more blame for the goal on the actions of the players in the wall rather than the additional yard of space.
“It felt like a couple of us jumped and some of us didn’t, but I’ve not seen it back. It felt like the ball flew over us at quite a low height so, from the wall’s perspective, we could have done a lot better,” Rice told Sky Sports.
“The wall did feel far back. Even on our free-kick, when Martin [Odegaard] took it, they felt far back as well, more than usual. But the referee makes that decision.”
