Manchester United benefited from a misjudgement by referee Anthony Taylor in their 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford, midfielder Christian Eriksen has admitted.
Bruno Fernandes scored a stunning free-kick just before half-time to give United the lead against the run of play. But Arsenal’s wall appeared to be a long distance back from the ball, and Sky Sports’ analysis later confirmed that the defenders were lined up 11.2 yards away from the free-kick.
The laws of the game stipulate that defenders must be “a minimum of 10 yards” from the ball when a free-kick is taken, but referee Taylor forced Arsenal’s players to stand further away, giving Fernandes extra room to get the ball up and down again to score.
“Happy that the wall was about 15 metres away so it was perfect for him to put it over,” Eriksen smiled, speaking after the game. “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.
“We felt relief from the fans in the stadium after the goal.”
Declan Rice equalised in the second half but Arsenal couldn’t find a winner and only an impressive double save by David Raya denied Fernandes from grabbing all three points at the last.
A frustrated Arteta said on Fernandes’s free-kick: “He was more clever than us and the referee… football is for clever people.
“When we had the first half that we had where we were exceptional, we didn’t test the keeper. We had some unbelievable situations but we didn’t get the last shot or the last pass. We didn’t capitalise, we rushed the game, we started to lose duels and we could have ended up losing it.”
On their missed chances, the manager added: “Sometimes that is what is missing. The execution has to be in to the right player and the right player to shoot. How we conceded [chances] in certain moments was not acceptable. They have so much quality and they pick the right player and normally that would end in a goal.
“We opened the gate to lose the game. there was no chance to lose the game and we opened it ourselves. I will defend my players all the time but in those moments we have to do better.”
