Richard Keys explains what officials said about Eddie Nketiah after Arsenal beat Man Utd

In pictures: Arsenal v Man Utd

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Richard Keys has opened up on what ‘we’ve been told’ about Eddie Nketiah after Arsenal beat Manchester United on Saturday. The Gunners were far too strong for Ralf Rangnick’s side. And goals from Nuno Tavares, Bukayo Saka and Granit Xhaka gave the Gunners all three points.

Arsenal led 2-1 against United at half time after Tavares and Saka had struck, with Cristiano Ronaldo on target for the visitors for the first time since the tragic death of his young son.

And while Xhaka’s goal was memorable, some believe the goal shouldn’t have been allowed to stand.

Nketiah was in an offside position, blocking David De Gea’s view of the ball, when his team-mate rifled in an effort from distance.

Both Rio Ferdinand and Ralf Rangnick have expressed a belief that the goal shouldn’t have been allowed to stand.

And Keys, talking on BeIN Sports, has now revealed what the officials told the broadcasters.

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Co-star Andy Gray had been ranting about the decision to allow the goal, accusing Nketiah of being in an offside position.

And that’s when his former Sky Sports partner said: “No he wasn’t.

“What we’ve been told is they checked the distance between Nketiah and the goalkeeper and decided it was too great for him to be interfering.”

Gray then continued his rant, saying: “They know nothing about football.

“I guarantee you, I guarantee you 100 per cent, if he [Nketiah] isn’t there he [De Gea] saves it.”

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Arsenal won’t care a jot about the decision, however, with the Gunners now in pole position to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

And manager Mikel Arteta cut a delighted figure following the contest, saying: “It was a crucial game for us after two-and-a-half days to recover from a big performance and result at Stamford Bridge.

“We wanted to win again and we knew how important our fans would be.

“They really made it happen with the energy they played with and the spirit they have in the team.

“We wanted to start really fast and make sure we scored first and get the people behind us.

“The last 15 minutes of the first half and first 15 minutes of the second we didn’t control the game and we need some luck.

“We had Aaron make some important saves and they missed a penalty, which is rare for the quality they have.

“We will learn from that but after that the response of the team was magnificent.

“You can’t expect to win every match as that is only afforded to one or two teams in the league.

“We have to earn our right to win games and need a bit of luck, and today we had it.”

Goalscorer Xhaka added: “Very happy for the three points and secondly very happy to have helped the team with a goal.

“I haven’t scored in long time and it’s good to do it front of the fans. But the most important thing was the three points.

“We started well but it was a 50-50 game in the second half. United were pressing and did much better, but we got the three points. The missed penalty helped us.

“It’s not the first time we score and concede straight away, we did it twice against Chelsea.

“So we have to be more clever and have a strong mentality for the five minutes after we score.”

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