Mikel Arteta has refused to concede the Premier League title race after Arsenal fell 15 points behind Liverpool with a 1-1 draw at Manchester United.
Declan Rice‘s 74th-minute strike cancelled out Bruno Fernandes‘ opener in first half stoppage time but neither side were able to find a winner in a frantic finale at Old Trafford.
Arsenal still have a game in hand on the leaders but now face a mammoth task in their attempts to secure a first league crown since 2004.
And when asked whether the race was now over, Arteta said: “I don’t want to say that. Today the frustration is that we haven’t won the game. We know the urgency and we are obligated to win every single match if you want to have any chance of doing that. I don’t think it is the right moment to talk about that.”
Rice vowed Arsenal would keep pushing until the final day. “Like the manager said, we’ll keep going until the end of the season,” the England midfielder said.
“Liverpool have been amazing all year. We’re Arsenal. We’ve been hit hard by injuries. We’ll keep going and we’ll be alright.”
Arteta’s frustrations were evident when he left his post-match media obligations with Sky Sports early following a question about the title race.
After answering several questions, Arteta was asked whether he regretted Arsenal not signing a striker in January and replied: “No, it’s not about that” before beginning to walk away.
The interviewer then asked for one more question, which Arteta allowed. But while being asked about the 15-point gap to Liverpool, Arteta walked out of shot.
