Arsenal 1 Man United 1: Ferguson hails Van Persie composure
Arsenal 1 Man United 1: Sir Alex Ferguson hails Robin van Persie's composure after sriker's penalty earns his side a draw
Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Robin van Persie’s composure after the striker’s penalty earned Manchester United a draw on his return to Arsenal.
The Dutchman, who was booed by the home fans throughout the game, confidently slotted home his spot-kick on the stroke of half-time after he was fouled by Bacary Sagna to cancel out Theo Walcott’s opener in north London.
“It takes bottle to take a penalty when the crowd are booing,” said Ferguson. “We have a great spirit of applauding players when they come back to our club. I expected the booing to be honest with you.”
Ferguson, whose side were crowned champions last week after a 3-0 triumph over Aston Villa, admitted United made a slow start to the game.
“We got caught on the back-foot in the first 20 mins. The referee found it difficult to determine what was a good and bad tackle.
“Lukas Podolski [committed] two yellow-card tackles while we were booked for our first tackle. It was unusual for us to get so many bookings – we have a good disciplinary record.
“Walcott was apparently was offside for his goal. The referee apologised to Rio Ferdinand saying he got it wrong.
“It wasn’t his fault – it was the linesman’s. It was an uphill fight for us after losing the first goal.”
