Owen Hargreaves had no doubt he was the man to take the
free-kick which gave United a decisive 2-1 victory against
Arsenal.
The midfielder had earlier been denied the chance to take a
free-kick by Cristiano Ronaldo, but revealed he didn’t even listen
to the Reds’ top scorer before stepping up to curl home the winner
in the 72nd minute.
The 27-year-old said: “We had an earlier free-kick and I said
‘I’ll take that’, but Ronny said ‘it’s too far for you’.
“The second one was a bit closer and it was a good distance for
me so I didn’t ask him!
“I score goals on counter-attacks, from long distance or
free-kicks and if I can get a chance to contribute, I’m very happy
with that.”
Hargreaves admitted United were stretched too often by the
Gunners in the first half, but was pleased with the way the Reds
responded after the break.
“I thought it was an open game – too open in the first half,” he
said. “The distances were too big and there was a lot of running to
be done.
“We needed to tighten up a bit in the second half because
Arsenal were the better team and made it difficult for us.”
Rio Ferdinand had another excellent game in the heart of the
defence and was delighted by United’s fighting spirit.
Emmanuel Adebayor converted from close range early in the second
half to put Arsenal ahead, but the Reds roared back through
Ronaldo’s re-taken penalty and Hargreaves’ strike.
With four games to go, United are now six points ahead of
Chelsea, who play Wigan on Monday, and nine ahead of Arsenal, who
are all but out of the title race.
Ferdinand said: “It’s a massive game for us. We don’t go a goal
down at home very often, but we showed true grit, determination and
a great team ethic to claw our way back into the game.
“The three points, no matter who you play against, are
important. But there are more games to be played – the title’s not
handed out now. We need to win our remaining games and if we do
that, we’ll be champions.”