Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has torn into Mikel Arteta, labelling the Arsenal manager a "disgrace" for his actions before Arsenal's penalty against the Red Devils.
Arsenal won 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium, with Bukayo Saka scoring a penalty for the hosts and Bruno Fernandes missing one for the visitors. However, Scholes wasn't impressed by Arteta's antics in the lead-up to the Gunners' spot-kick.
There was plenty of fall-out both during and after the game, with Mohamed Elneny coming in for praise and United full-backs Alex Telles and Diogo Dalot bearing the brunt of the criticism. The result all but ended United's hopes of a top four finish, but some of Scholes' post-match comments focused on the opposing manager rather than his former club's flaws.
Arsenal's penalty came around the half-hour mark, when Telles clattered into Saka inside the United box. Eddie Nketiah had put away the rebound, but was deemed offside following a VAR check, and Arteta approached referee Craig Pawson as the official went to rule on the penalty offence.
"I think Arteta is a disgrace there. He shouldn’t be allowed to do that," Scholes said.
"If you see it again, he actually goes to the crowd to try and influence the referee a little. All the players around them as well. That shouldn’t be allowed."
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Speaking to DAZN Canada, Scholes also raised concerns about the mood in United's dressing room as the team prepare for the arrival of new permanent manager Erik ten Hag. "I had a quick chat with Jesse [Lingard]... I'm sure he won't mind me saying, the dressing room is just a disaster," the former England midfielder said.
Interim boss Ralf Rangnick is still in charge until the end of the season, with Ten Hag due to step in after rounding off the campaign with current club Ajax. However, when quizzed on Scholes' comments, the German gave little away.
"I don't know, you have to ask Jesse Lingard," he said. "Obviously, after games like today, there is massive disappointment in the locker room. This is for me normal."
With four games left to play, United are down in sixth, six points behind Arsenal and four adrift of Tottenham with the two London sides holding a game in hand. However, they avoided dropping another place when West Ham United were beaten by Chelsea on Sunday.
"The last four games are about pride for us," United midfielder Scott McTominay said after the game. Going out on the pitch and showing a bit of balls in your performances and not shying away from the ball or not doing everything right."
