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"Kill the game..." - Man Utd star insists they should have beaten Arsenal

"Kill the game..." - Man Utd star insists they should have beaten Arsenal

He was left rueing his side's mistakes.

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez believes his side weren't clinical enough against the Gunners, as the Red Devils were beaten 3-2 in an enthralling contest at the Emirates.

Marcus Rashford opened the scoring, lashing a fierce effort beyond the reach of Aaron Ramsdale.

But Arsenal were quick to respond through Eddie Nketiah, who leapt highest to head home, levelling the scores. Bukayo Saka then doubled the Gunners' advantage with an excellent strike from distance.

Martinez got United back on track, sending a looping header over Ramsdale and into the roof of the net. But a 90th minute winner from Nketiah stole his side all three points in North London.

The result leaves Mikel Arteta's men five points clear at the top of the table, with a game in hand over Manchester City below them, and in pole position for the Premier League title.

Martinez rues missed chances

Following the defeat, Martinez had his say on the game, expressing his frustration.

“For sure we are disappointed,” he said in an interview with MUTV.

“We want to win the game, but we didn't, and we are very disappointed. But we are strong, we have to keep fighting and we go for the next one."

The Argentinian maintained that his side had chances to win the game, blaming their lack of concentration for the defeat.

"I think we can win the game today,” he said. “But this is about details. If you are not [focused on] every detail, you can't win.

“We have to be strong, and we have to learn also from every experience. [It] cannot happen again, for sure it cannot happen again.

“We have to be really focused on the game and we have to kill the game. We have to win."

"We don't have a day to be sad"

The silver lining for Martinez was scoring his first goal for the club. However, the 25-year-old insisted the defeat was more important.

"For sure, it is a dream to score my first goal here in Manchester United,” he said. “I am really happy with that, but in the end it was not the result that I want. We have to keep going.

"[We] don't have a day to be sad. We have to go tomorrow and change. We have to go for the next one."

Erik ten Hag's men travel to the City Ground on Wednesday, where they take on Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

A win would maintain Ten Hag's impressive record this season, becoming the only manager to remain in all four of England's major competitions.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Manchester United, Arsenal, Erik Ten Hag, Lisandro Martinez, Mikel Arteta, Premier League, Football