Erik ten Hag has voiced his belief that Manchester United were unjustly denied a crucial goal in their defeat to Arsenal, asserting that “everything” went against his team at the Emirates.
In a thrilling match in North London, United succumbed to a 3-1 defeat.
Marcus Rashford gave the visitors the lead midway through the first half, against the run of play, but Arsenal swiftly equalized through Martin Odegaard.
In the closing stages of the game, United thought they had secured a winning goal when Rasmus Hojlund, making his debut, set up Alejandro Garnacho to score. However, his goal was disallowed for offside following a VAR review, even though one angle suggested that Garnacho was in an onside position.
Arsenal capitalized on their stroke of luck, with Declan Rice scoring from a corner deep into added time before Gabriel Jesus sealed the victory with a well-taken finish, sending the home fans into jubilation.
Speaking to Sky Sports after full-time, Ten Hag struggled to hide his anger – claiming all the major decisions went against him team.
“It was NOT offside.” ❌
Erik ten Hag is not happy with the officiating decisions during Man United’s game vs. Arsenal 😳 pic.twitter.com/WBYpoM0MNX
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 3, 2023
“You saw the game. It was not offside. Wrong angle,” said Ten Hag, who went on to claim that Hojlund should have been awarded a penalty.
“It was a penalty on Hojlund. And then we concede a goal where there is a foul on Jonny Evans, it’s so obvious.”
“I think the performance is right. I think we played a very good game,” he added. “But everything went against us. With a little bit more luck, you win the game.
“OK, we can tell, finish your chances, don’t concede a goal after you go 1-0 up, that’s all true, but I think we took a step forward with the performance.
“I think on the ball we were calm and I also of course see room for improvement. I see the moment where we can go forward. We missed some passes that could have hurt them more. But all over, I’m happy with the performance. As I said, I see a good pattern, I see the trend line going up.
“It was small margins today. When Garna is finishing and it’s a goal, we’re winning this game.”
Victory for Arsenal moves them up to fifth in the Premier League, having taken 10 points from their opening four games.
United, meanwhile, are 11th – having won two and lost two on their first four matches.