Mata Frustrated After Arsenal Draw

Goalscorer Juan Mata could not hide his frustration after Manchester United were pegged back late on in a 1-1 draw against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The Spaniard opened the scoring with a controlled finish from his compatriot Ander Herrera’s cutback midway through the second half but the Reds were left feeling hard done by after sub Olivier Giroud headed an equaliser with Arsenal’s only shot on target in the 89th minute.

And although he accepts it was a good game for the fans to watch, Mata believes the result was not a fair reflection of United’s positive performance, with Jose Mourinho’s side dominating for long periods.

The 28-year-old told MUTV: “We got a point but it feels very frustrating after the performance that everyone had. We had chances to get the second goal to kill the game but we didn’t.

“We were really close to winning the game but this is the Premier League, this is football and you know that every team fights until the end. They did that and had one chance at the end of the game, Giroud with a great header, and we only get a point.

“I think it was a good game from our side and for the fans. It was a typical Premier League game with emotion and passion, with goals.

“We were really close to having a happy weekend but now we can’t have a happy weekend. We can be proud of the performance, but obviously we’re really disappointed with the result.”

Mata, who scored the winner against Manchester City in the EFL Cup last month, put United on course for three points with a fine finish for his fourth goal of the campaign.

Describing the goal, he said: “It was a great run from Ander. He always chooses the right option when he arrives on the ball. I felt the ball was coming to me and I could finish first time. I would have been more happy if it was the goal that meant three points.

“I always feel really privileged to play in these kinds of games and score goals in front of the fans at Old Trafford, so we need to try to do it more.”

United were on top in a lively first half, with Petr Cech called into action to deny Mata and Anthony Martial, and had a penalty appeal turned down when Antonio Valencia went over under pressure from Nacho Monreal.

But a disappointed Mata admitted it meant little in the final outcome as a draw is tough to take.

He added: “We didn’t score [in the first half]. Cech made two or three good saves and we have to deal with that. At the end of the day we only scored one goal and it wasn’t enough today.

“I don’t know [if it was a penalty in the first half]. Valencia isn’t a player that normally falls to the ground for no reason but I don’t know as I didn’t see.”

Although United maintained a positive 10-year unbeaten home league record against the Gunners, the Reds have now drawn the last three league games at Old Trafford – which only adds to Mata’s frustration.

He added: “We feel the same. We’ve had three games, three draws. I honestly feel that we have deserved to win these games and we would have had nine points instead of three and be really close to the top.

“But we have to be positive, think about the performance and keep playing like this to get the points.”