Juan Mata has said there are more reasons to be positive after Manchester United stumbled to a 2-0 loss against Arsenal.
Mata, who is recovering from injury, hailed his teammates for the fighting spirit displayed at the Emirates and hoped that he will join them soon. The loss at Emirates marked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first blip in charge of his former club domestically and that came after the Paris heroics against PSG where Man United ensured they booked a slot in the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 win.
“I am writing this from home in Manchester. It is has been another different week, without being able to play, but there are reasons to be optimistic: on Friday I was able to put in some work out on a pitch again, and my recovery is progressing as hoped. Hopefully, I can rejoin the team soon.” Mata wrote on his Monday blog.
“I watched the game at the Emirates at home too. A defeat that wasn’t desired but has to be played down. I believe that we deserved more against Arsenal. It is true that they started better than us, with intensity, and dominated the game at first, but the reality is that we had clear-cut chances and couldn’t capitalise on them. In the second half, we started to look for the equaliser, but once they scored their penalty the task ahead was a lot tougher. It has to be remembered that we were playing against a great team at their own ground, but I really think that we deserved better than a 2-0 loss. It resulted in our first defeat with Ole in domestic competition, where we had amassed 15 matches unbeaten (Premier and FA Cup). Despite this disappointment, we continue moving forward with the motivation to get back to winning ways, and we do so with confidence.” he explained.
“To finish talking about this week, obviously, we have to discuss Paris. It is something difficult to explain with just words. A historic night. To come back from 2-0 down is tough, but to do so against an opponent like PSG is even more difficult. Romelu gave us hope in the first few minutes, making the most of a defensive error, but they responded with some good football and a goal, which left progressing to the next round look even further away… However, the team continued to believe and got into the final stages of the game still with a chance. All that was missing was a goal. While I celebrated winning a corner in the last minute, destiny had another surprise in store. Penalty. A goal from Marcus with the composure of a veteran to send us to the quarterfinals. Incredible. This magical night represented the greatness of Manchester United and it will be, without doubt, remembered forever in the history of our club. We’re already looking forward to playing in the quarterfinals.” the Spaniard passionately added.
The Red Devils will play Wolves on Saturday in the FA Cup tie.