Sir Alex: We Had To Dig Deep

Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted to see his side “dig deep” and turnaround Arsenal’s 1-0 half time lead to clinch an important victory.

United went behind to a fine strike from Andrei Arshavin at the end of the first half, but the Reds stepped it up a gear after the break.

“We like to win, and win by playing well. Both are important. I think we did that in the second half. We deserved the win based on our second half performance.”

The United boss spoke pointedly about last season’s disappointing record against the other members of the league’s top four. That has to change this season, he said. His players responded in fine fashion in the second 45 minutes.

“When you are 1-0 down at half time it’s an uphill task against a team of the capabilities of Arsenal. We had to dig deep,” he said. “This result can make a difference and the players will gather momentum from this win.

“Last season we dropped four points to Arsenal and six against Liverpool. We were a bit unlucky there, but you have to correct these things. Already we’ve made a better start this season in that respect.”

After a week of controversy surrounding Eduardo’s dive at Celtic Park, Sir Alex feels that referee Mike Dean got two important calls right. Darren Fletcher’s challenge on Arshavin in the first half was, the boss says, strong but fair. While Manuel Almunia’s foul on Wayne Rooney that led to a spot-kick for United was also correct.

“The penalty was a clear penalty,” he said. “With Darren Fletcher’s challenge, he got the ball. The referee was ten yards away and called it right. It was a committed challenge by Darren. If he was a fraction out it would have been a penalty, but I think it was the right decision, no doubt about it.”