MX23RW : Thursday, December 6 13:22:59

Mourinho praises 'big soul' of players after fightback against Arsenal

Mourinho praises 'big soul' of players after fightback against Arsenal
© Reuters
United twice fought back to equalise after gifting the Gunners two goals.

Jose Mourinho praised the "big soul" of his Manchester United side in their 2-2 draw with Arsenal but bemoaned costly errors.

After a positive opening by United, David De Gea allowed Shkodran Mustafi's header to slip through his hands, with Ander Herrera failing to clear in time on the line.

Arsenal's second goal saw Marcos Rojo try desperately to make up for his error in giving the ball to Alexandre Lacazette only to slide in and score an own goal.

Manchester United v Arsenal – Premier League – Old Trafford
Anthony Martial, centre, scored Manchester United's first equaliser against Arsenal (Martin Rickett/PA)

United responded quickly both times, with Anthony Martial grabbing the first equaliser before a calamity at the back for Arsenal allowed Jesse Lingard to nip in and level only 13 seconds after Rojo's own goal.

Mourinho was forced into a number of changes by his ever-growing injury list, particularly in defence. He selected Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly despite neither being fully fit while Rojo made his first appearance of the season and Diogo Dalot his first ever start in the Premier League.

Mourinho said: "Maybe we feel frustrated with the result, we feel frustrated with some mistakes, we feel frustrated with some moments where a little bit more quality would be needed but we have to be happy with the spirit, we have to be happy with the effort, the dynamic, the intensity.

"The team had a big soul. We scored four goals and we drew 2-2. Even in matches like today where we play well, we always shoot ourselves.

Manchester United v Arsenal – Premier League – Old Trafford
Paul Pogba was given rare praise by Jose Mourinho after the 2-2 draw with Arsenal (Martin Rickett/PA)

"But good performances. I could speak about everyone. Especially in moments where we are not very happy with the result, we need happiness on the pitch."

Mourinho dropped Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku to the bench, with both coming on in the second half, but denied the team's level of happiness was improved by neither being in the starting line-up.

He said: "I think Paul came on and gave a good contribution. I brought freshness and power to the attacking players but our defenders were dead. That made it more difficult to keep that happiness for the 95 minutes.

"In the last part of the game it was Arsenal wanting the draw, diving, getting the game stopped."

Manchester United v Arsenal – Premier League – Old Trafford
Diogo Dalot received special praise from Mourinho (Martin Rickett/PA)

Mourinho reserved special praise for 19-year-old Dalot, who showed plenty of attacking intent down the right.

"The kid Diogo, fantastic," added the United boss. "I think Gary Neville must be thinking now that Manchester United has a right-back for 10 years."

Martial limped off during the second half but Mourinho offered a positive assessment, describing the Frenchman's problem as a "pre-injury" after he felt tightness.

There is likely to be far less positive news for Arsenal defender Rob Holding, who was carried down the tunnel on a stretcher after twisting his knee awkwardly and he may have suffered ligament damage.

Rob Holding
Arsenal's Rob Holding suffered a knee injury in the game against Manchester United (Martin Rickett/PA)

Gunners boss Unai Emery said: "It's the worst for us today. Rob Holding, we are going to wait for the doctor but maybe it's a big injury."

Aaron Ramsey also had to be replaced but Emery described his problem as a small injury.

The Arsenal boss felt his side were unfortunate not to come away from Old Trafford with three points for the first time since 2006 in the Premier League.

He said: "I am very proud for our work and how we responded in the 90 minutes. When we are winning it was a good moment but they equalised very quickly then we got up after their two goals.

"In the second half our players worked to find a way to win. I think we were close, more than them, to do the third goal but De Gea saved two or three times with good action."


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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City1513204573841
2Liverpool1512303062439
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs15110428161233
4Chelsea1594231131831
5Arsenal1594234201431
6Everton156542117423
7Bournemouth157262522323
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd156542425-123
9Leicester CityLeicester156452118322
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156361921-221
11Watford156271821-320
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves155461518-319
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372023-318
14Newcastle UnitedNewcastle153481220-813
15Crystal Palace153391120-912
16Cardiff CityCardiff1532101430-1611
17Huddersfield TownHuddersfield152491026-1610
18Southampton151681329-169
19Burnley1523101432-189
20Fulham1523101536-219

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