After United's defeat to Arsenal, interim manager Ronnick openly admitted that it was no longer a play to enter the top four of the Premier League this season. United are currently one more game, six points behind Fourth Place Arsenal and four points behind Tottenham Hotspur, and the one that the North London Duo has played less is a dialogue derby, which means that at least one of them can extend their lead over Manchester United.
Lonnick said, "Yes, the hope of fighting for four has been dashed. Before this game, I was pretty sure that Manchester United was unlikely to be in the top four, and after losing, the fight for the fourth place would definitely be out of the game."
However, Pogba, who said before the game that this season had been reimbursed and would transfer freely this summer, denied that his Manchester United career was over. He said on the social networking site: "I was very disappointed that I couldn't help the team in today's game. I will work harder and hopefully get stronger by the end of the season. It's not over yet, thank you all for your support, Manchester United, let's stand up together!" Ironically, while playing for France this month, Pogba asserted that United were "dead" this season...
The Manchester United boss blamed the loss to Arsenal on defensive errors, referee misjudgments and poor luck. "Our performance improved, but the results were disappointing." "In my opinion, the only weakness is that we didn't defend well enough in and around the box.' The second and third goals conceded were all due to this."
Lonnick also blasted referee Craig Bauson for his misjudgment, arguing that Ronaldo's second goal was not offside, while Arsenal's third goal should be judged offside. "Cristiano (Ronaldo)'s turning shot, I don't think there was offside. Arsenal's third goal was offside, De Gea's line of sight was blocked, they looked at the slow mirror but did not know why the penalty was still valid. And in the first half, the other side had a handball in the penalty area, and the referee did not give a penalty, and we were very unhappy with the VAR's ruling."
United complained about the action of Cedric Soarez in the first half after falling to the ground in the penalty area and slapping the ball away with his hand, which many fans considered to be a penalty. Unfortunately, under the current rules, the ball really can't be awarded a penalty, you can only say that the rules are controversial. Former Premier League referee Peter Wharton explained: "It's not a penalty because according to the rules, when the ball is between the body and the arm, the referee doesn't need to award a penalty."
Arsenal's Tavares also had one physical contact in each half that caused Erlanga to fall to the ground, and the referee did not award a penalty. In it, Walton pointed out that the action in the second half may occur outside the box, so VAR cannot intervene, but he believes that the ball does look like a penalty.
Lonnick concluded: "We had a lot of chances, penalties, shots over the crossbar, two hits to the goalpost, and some controversial VAR decisions, and we were very unlucky."
Although acknowledging that there was no hope of competing for four, Lonnick still inspired the team to fight for honor. "It's a matter of pride and honor again, and it's something we owe to the fans. In the next two games, we will face Chelsea and Brentford at home. We saw some good things on the offensive end today, creating enough offensive chances and also creating enough scoring chances. Obviously, we have to do better inside and outside the box."
At the same time, Longnick confirmed that he would like to continue to work at Manchester United: "I am very interested in this, after 5 and a half months, I already have a strong feeling about the club, I think with the right action, we have a lot of room for improvement and can make a big development. I'm not a problem staying because I've already had a two-year contract with the club. It's also important how Tenhag positions my role: is he willing to talk to me, and how closely does he intend to maintain with me?"