Sir Alex Ferguson was pessimistic about Manchester United's title chances after seeing them lose a game he felt they had to win at Arsenal.
After setting his team an 85-point target to secure their third successive crown, Ferguson knows a haul of 21 from 11 games is not good enough, particularly as they have gained just a single point from trips to the other members of the 'big four'.
So, although the United boss could not fault his side for effort and quality of football, he confirmed the result was not what his side were looking for.
"It is a big blow to us," he said. "We needed to win the game.
"Our results against the other big clubs is a big concern. It is a complete opposite to last year, when we lost at Chelsea and drew at Arsenal but won the rest.
"We have got to get above 85 points to have a chance of winning the league, so we must keep going for it."
While the industry of his side's performance meant it could not be used as an excuse, Ferguson once again questioned how the fixtures have fallen for United.
In the first half of the season they must play the entire top eight from last term away from home, while every Champions League group game, such as last week's trip to Celtic, is followed by United getting on their travels in domestic combat.
"They say the league is not handicapped - I am not so sure," he said.
"Having every game away from home following a European tie is not easy. Going from Celtic on Wednesday to play at Arsenal the following Saturday lunchtime is hard, although funnily enough, I did not think it was a problem today."
Ferguson felt if Cristiano Ronaldo had pulled a goal back immediately after Samir Nasri had bagged his second, the Red Devils would have gone on to win.
Similarly, Wayne Rooney had chances to put the visitors ahead before Nasri had opened his account.
With Arsenal's confidence flaky, United could well have taken advantage, although Ferguson felt the pressure being placed on Arsene Wenger worked in the hosts' favour.
"Arsenal were inspired by people saying they were out of the title race," said Ferguson.
"The crowd were right up for it and the players were ready for the challenge as well.
"There was all this talk about so many players being missing but apart from Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie, who might not have played anyway, it did not look like a massive injury list to me."
Ferguson calculated United had 21 attempts on goal, following up their 20 at Celtic Park. Yet on neither occasion did they come away with a win, with Rafael da Silva grabbing the consolation goal in north London.
"I don't know if anyone else can create as many chances as that away from home," he said.
"It was a fantastic game. We could have been four up before they scored.
"You hope to do better than that in big games but it will come. We are making chances, that is the main thing."
Sir Alex upset by more dropped points
Fergie: 'Fantasy Football' But No Cutting Edge
Manchester United gaffer Sir Alex Ferguson felt his side were wasteful in front of goal during the crunch clash with Arsenal, but gushed over the quality of the football on show...
Samir Nasri bagged a deadly double for the under-pressure Gunners on Saturday, with substitute Rafael da Silva's fine strike failing to spark a United comeback.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the wily Scot lamented, "Without question, the area in which we have let ourselves down is not taking the incredible number of chances we had."
Praising Arsene Wengers troops as much as his own side, he continued, "It was fantasy football out there - playground stuff. You attack, we attack...
"Some of the football from both teams was magnificent - you won't see a game as good as that anywhere in the country.
"Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say that if you're going to be beaten make sure it is against a team that plays football. That said, we gave away a bad goal: the second one."
However, it's not a Fergie interview without a little moan and he duly obliged.
"We probably deserved something from the game," he insisted. "They only scored two, after all."
On Wayne Rooney's cross that looked to hit Gael Clichy's arm, he added, "I thought we should have had a penalty kick on half-time. It was a clear handball by Clichy, but you don't always get a break."
Liam Black
Player Ratings: Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United
It took 96 long minutes for the Gunners to claim the three points off Manchester United today at the Emirates. Samir Nasri hit a brace before Rafael da Silva gave Arsenal something to think about in injury time. Goal.com rates the performers...
Arsenal:
Manuel Almunia 7.0 Had one or two jitters very early on but settled well and was a commanding shot-stopper today.
Bacary Sagna 7.0 Gave his side width in attack and provided a sure-footed asset in the backline.
Gael Clichy 7.5 Kept Ronaldo and Rooney at bay with well-timed interceptions and fine positioning; as always, injected urgency into the Gunners' front play with some excellent crossing.
William Gallas 7.5 A commanding performance from the skipper who played with his heart and his head. Berbatov barely had a touch thanks to Gallas' marshalling job.
Mikael Silvestre 6.5 A happy reunion with his former employers and did what he does best - no fuss defending. Undersold Almunia with an early backpass but calmed well.
Cesc Fabregas 6.5 His assist for Nasri's second was worth the admission price alone. Was crafty and showed guile but like his midfield colleagues, surrendered the ball all to often.
Denilson 6.0 Arsenal were a little soft at the core of midfield this afternoon as United turned possession over time and again. The Brazilian could have done more to prevent the blue march but showed some nice passing himself at times.
Abou Diaby 7.5 Mr Versatile; Diaby played as a second striker, a third midfielder and occasionally, a third central defender. Exuded calm in possession and is gathering assuredness by the day.
Samir Nasri 8.5 Made life exceedingly uncomfortable for Neville and took his pair of goals well. Deservedly, man of the match. A real 'homer' who performs to his best at the Emirates. On this showing, he would walk into any team in Europe.
Theo Walcott 5.5 Snatched at his two chances and was a little erratic. His presence limited Evra's attacking contributions however and he made an exquisite dummy-run for Nasri's second half goal.
Nicklas Bendtner 5.0 Not the lone front man that Wenger needs at this moment in time. He held the ball competently at times but missed a clutch of chances and squandered vital possession twice in injury time.
Subs:
Lukasz Fabianski 5.0 Launched the ball down field when Song was lying prone and ultimately, conceded. Not a glorious cameo.
Kolo Toure n/a
Alex Song 6.0 Provided a little bit of steel in the centre to help plug the Gunners.
Manchester United:
Edwin van der Sar 5.5 Not the commanding presence that his experience suggests and made some questionable decisions.
Gary Neville 5.0 Unspectacular as usual but was given a tough time by Nasri in the first half. Looked jaded on his comeback from injury and was withdrawn.
Patrice Evra 6.0 The best of the United backline. Kept Walcott in check and provided an occasional cross.
Rio Ferdinand 4.5 Slow, cumbersome, suspect on the turn; this was not Rio's day.
Nemanja Vidic 5.0 Not much better than Rio but was better positionally than his partner. Should have conceded a penalty when outdone by Nasri.
Michael Carrick 6.0 Solid; Provided tidy and accurate passes in either direction but did not have a huge impact on proceedings.
Anderson 6.5 Ran the game well at the beginning but faded as time wore on.
Cristiano Ronaldo 6.0 Not a memorable game from Ronaldo, but he did little wrong. Crossed when he could have, dribbled when he should have but he did not see enough of the ball out wide. Missed one great chance.
Park Ji Sung 7.0 The energy of a Duracell bunny. Was at hand as an outlet for each and every team-mate and put some accurate passes into the box.
Wayne Rooney 5.0 Only flashes of his true self; wasted his two good chances before being replaced.
Dimitar Berbatov 6.0 As guilty as anyone in blue of missing chances and in a game of this urgency, his languid style was out of place.
Subs:
Rafael da Silva 8.0 Will be an automatic starter in the immediate future. Tackles like Dunga, dribbles like Robinho and scored a goal like Adriano. Not bad for a right-back. An immense prospect.
Ryan Giggs 6.0 Did not influence the game.
Carlos Tevez 6.0 Had the ball only twice at the most and had little impact. Needs more starts to get back to his best.
Fletcher Hoping For Quick Recovery
Manchester United's Darren FManchester United's Darren Fletcher is hoping to bounce back from Wednesday's difficult draw with Celtic by downing Arsenal on their own turf this weekend...letcher is hoping to bounce back from Wednesday's difficult draw with Celtic by downing Arsenal on their own turf this weekend...
United struggled somewhat in their Champions League clash at Parkhead during the week, and it took a late header from Ryan Giggs to cancel out Scott McDonald's brilliant opener.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men travel to London this Saturday hoping to further dent Arsenal's title chances, Fletcher is confident that he and his team-mates will triumph.
"We will look to recover from the efforts in Glasgow as quickly as we can and target a win against Arsenal," the Scot said in The Sun.
"They are a top-quality side. I am quite sure with Manchester United coming to town they will be right up for it. They have maybe had a couple of indifferent results of late but you don’t often see Arsenal going on a poor run.
"They will present a big challenge for us on Saturday — but we’ll be trying our best."
The Red Devils are yet to win at the Emirates, and Fletcher added: "There is great history attached to an Arsenal fixture. I remember playing at Highbury and that was one of my favourite away grounds.
"Now we are heading to the Emirates and it has all changed down there. It really is quite different in many ways from Highbury.
"The old ground was something special in my opinion and maybe the move has taken something away — we’ll see."
Kieran Quentin
