Ten Hag warns ‘mistakes’ will cost Man Utd shot at being ‘number one’ after avoidable defeat at Arsenal

• Red Devils edged out at Emirates Stadium
• Held their own for long periods
• Sat 11 points off the title pace

WHAT HAPPENED? The Red Devils played out a thrilling clash with the Gunners at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with the hosts edging their way to a 3-2 victory courtesy of a last-minute effort from Eddie Nketiah. United had held their own against the Premier League leaders for long periods in north London – having already beaten them at Old Trafford this season – but they were left to count the cost of individual and collective errors at the final whistle in north London.

WHAT THEY SAID: Ten Hag, who has overseen an upturn in fortune for United of late, told BBC Sport of seeing his side come away empty-handed against Arsenal: "It was a great game with 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 at a late stage. All the goals we conceded today are mistakes - it can't happen. Even last week, we were so hard to beat in such situations. Today we were not. All three goals, we could have avoided.”

Ten Hag added: "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 which 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. I want to win. It is not good enough. We want to be the number one but not if we make mistakes. That is clear and what I told them."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: United took the lead against Arsenal courtesy of Marcus Rashford, and dragged themselves level in the second-half through Lisandro Martinez, but they were unable to see off a late onslaught from the Gunners and have now dropped points in their last two fixtures.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? There was talk of United piecing together a title bid when they claimed nine successive victories in all competitions, but they are now fourth in the table and 11 points adrift of table-topping Arsenal – with the Gunners boasting a game in hand on all of their closest challengers.