“It can’t happen”: Erik ten Hag blames mistakes for defeat to Arsenal

It was a familiar story for Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United at the Emirates on Sunday as Eddie Nketiah’s last minute winner snatched a point away from the Reds following on from Michael Olise’s late free kick earlier in the week at Selhurst Park. 

In back-to-back visits to the capital, Manchester United caved in both fixtures, leaving Erik ten Hag’s side in fourth place and 11 points off league leaders Arsenal. 

Though Ten Hag recognised the game as a spectacle for the neutral, the Dutchman wasn’t best pleased with his side’s defeat. 

“It was a great game, a lot of tempo, and the audience is the big winner. Two top teams, but of course, we are disappointed when you lose this game in the late stage.”

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United went ahead inside the opening 20 minutes thanks to a great strike from in-form Marcus Rashford, but the visitors were pegged back just minutes later as Nketiah netted his first goal of the evening. 

Manager Ten Hag was unhappy with the way his side conceded all three goals at the Emirates. 

Ten Hag said: “All the goals we conceded today are mistakes, it can’t happen. 

“I want to win. It is not good enough. We want to be the number one, but [to] make mistakes [is not good enough].”

Prior to Sunday’s clash, United had conceded just three goals since the restart post World Cup, but the Gunners posed a different kind of threat with their fluid, possession-based football.

On the opposition, Ten Hag said: “They are very good on the ball, but we are a good defending team. There were not a lot of open chances. We made mistakes that we cannot make.

“This game was decided by small details, but also the decision making, that is hard to accept, and we have to learn from it.”

Ten Hag continued: “All three goals, we could have avoided.”

Just a fortnight ago, United were spoken about as outsiders to win the title however, Ten Hag is pleased with how far his side have come since the 52-year-old swapped Amsterdam for Old Trafford, despite sitting in fourth.

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“We realise that [progress has been made]. I’ve said the same in the dressing room, but I also said that if you want to win, you can’t make the mistakes I mentioned.”

United still have three cup competitions to play for, with the first leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest up next on Wednesday.

The current objective for Ten Hag certainly isn’t the league title, however, should he end the club’s trophy drought which dates back to May 2017, the building blocks for a shot at the Premier League may fall in place over the coming years.

Written by Aadam Haladh.