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Arsene Wenger believes Manchester United were to blame for draw with Saints

Published 16:02 10 Dec 2017 GMT

Updated 10:26 11 Dec 2017 GMT

Darragh Murphy

Arsene Wenger believes Manchester United were to blame for draw with Saints

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Olivier Giroud has made a happy habit out of scoring late on in matches.

The Arsenal forward has found the net on 10 occasions in the final 10 minutes of games in 2017 and it was his late header on Sunday afternoon which rescued a point for the Gunners at Southampton. The Frenchman was deployed from the bench after 72 minutes and he nodded home an Alexis Sanchez cross to cancel out Charlie Austin's early opener. It was a frustrating day for Arsenal supporters as they had to watch their side dominate possession and create several more chances than the hosts but settle for a share of the spoils.

Manager Arsene Wenger was asked for his take on the result after the game and he suggested that last week's 3-1 defeat to Manchester United may still have been lingering in the back of his players' minds.

"I felt that the Manchester United game played a bit of a part in the head of our defenders," Wenger said.

"It was a bit in their head and they were a bit apprehensive to start well again and that's why it is sometimes not good to talk about the problem because you create a bigger one.

"I'm not happy with the point because I wanted three, but if you cannot win it, don't lose it and we kept going.

"We were relentless, after a difficult start we were caught cold and overall it was a windy, rainy afternoon against a team who played well and were quick on the counter-attack." Wenger also accused the Saints of time-wasting as they desperately defended their lead which arrived after just two minutes of the game had elapsed..

"I must say I am very frustrated as in the second half there was a lot of time-wasting," Wenger said.

"Especially on the final ball on the counter-attack, it is very frustrating to give the advantage to the guy who had the foul because we were not only called back.

"We were three against one but we played it quick and the referee called the ball back without any reason and that was a huge advantage for Southampton in the final minute."

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Olivier Giroud has made a happy habit out of scoring late on in matches.

"I felt that the Manchester United game played a bit of a part in the head of our defenders," Wenger said.

"It was a bit in their head and they were a bit apprehensive to start well again and that's why it is sometimes not good to talk about the problem because you create a bigger one.

"I'm not happy with the point because I wanted three, but if you cannot win it, don't lose it and we kept going.

"I must say I am very frustrated as in the second half there was a lot of time-wasting," Wenger said.

"Especially on the final ball on the counter-attack, it is very frustrating to give the advantage to the guy who had the foul because we were not only called back.

"We were three against one but we played it quick and the referee called the ball back without any reason and that was a huge advantage for Southampton in the final minute."

Arsene Wenger believes Manchester United were to blame for draw with Saints

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Olivier Giroud has made a happy habit out of scoring late on in matches.

Olivier Giroud has made a happy habit out of scoring late on in matches.

Home sport