Ferguson And Rooney Send Warning Over Goal Difference

Sir Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney have both called on Manchester United to be more ruthless in their finishing, after the side came away with a 2-1 win over Arsenal which could have been a much more one-sided affair.

After Jack Wilshere was sent off, the Gunners looked even worse for wear than they had over the course of the match, and with the north London side getting only three chances on target, a scoreline of 2-1 was rather flattering as Santi Cazorla scored in the dying minutes.

Ferguson has been very wary over how many goals United have scored this season, and after their loss of the Premier League title in their coming down to the final game, the Scot wants to make sure that the club are on top in terms of both points and goal difference.

"We lost [the title] on goal difference last season and I don't want to see that again," Ferguson told BBC Sport. "I'm disappointed with our inability to hammer home an advantage - we should have won by four or five."

Rooney reiterated the point that United need to have a higher goal ratio in each match, with the striker having scored four times in the last 12 matches.

"I think we had plenty of chances but we should be taking care of games," he explained to the Manchester Evening News.

"We had a lot of chances late doors, especially when they were down to 10 men to kill the game off and we couldn't.

"That could cost us in the future so we need to make sure we're more clinical and finish the games off."

United are currently just one point clear of second-placed Chelsea in the table, and are equal on goal difference with their title rivals.

While cross-town rivals Manchester City had been particularly dangerous in front of the net last season, the side are now also struggling in terms of scoring, and at the weekend Roberto Mancini was disappointed once more with his strikers after a 0-0 draw with West Ham.