Fergie: hectic schedule affected players

ALEX FERGUSON believes the exertion of the Christmas period took its toll as Arsenal and Manchester United could only produce a stalemate at Highbury last night.

Chances eventually came and went during an unusually uneventful clash between the former kingpins of English football but neither side was able to grab a winner.

And United chief Ferguson believes the result was fair to both sides.

“You’ve got to be fair to the footballers, it was their fourth game in eight days,” he said

“The pace was relentless but they kept going and going, it was a tribute to both sets of players.

“I thought we had the best chances of the match and they probably had more possession than us, so maybe a draw was a fair result.”

“We keep making a point that Chelsea have been fantastically consistent and there is no-one anywhere that can match them at this point,” said Ferguson.

“I don’t think the quality of the game has been raised in any way (by Chelsea), but they have retained that great consistency and are happy to grind out 1-0 wins.

“Defensively they have carried on from last season, they are excellent defensively.”

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was satisfied with the draw but felt his side deserved a penalty when Gary Neville tackled Cesc Fabregas from behind.

“We wanted to win but it was a high pace and I felt both teams were always trying to have a break to get the other on the counter-attack.

“It was difficult to create chances but in the end we created a few and they created a few,” he said.

“I felt it was very close to a penalty on Fabregas when Neville tackled him from behind in the area.”

United midfielder Darren Fletcher admitted it was a good night for Chelsea.

“Chelsea are the winners tonight,” the Scot said.

“We lost ground again and Chelsea will be pleased as we are the closest rivals.

“We have to keep persisting with the way we are playing. We’ve just got to keep winning and stay in second.”