Chelsea opened up a five-point gap at the top of the Premier League with John Terry securing the win over Manchester United, but Sir Alex Ferguson was critical of the referee over the only goal.
Official Martin Atkinson penalised Darren Fletcher for a tackle on Ashley Cole, with the Chelsea skipper heading home Frank Lampard's resulting free kick. However, the United boss felt the tackle was a fair one and then believed there was a foul in the box before Terry headed past Edwin van der Sar. Ferguson told Sky Sports 1: "Clearly, Darren Fletcher's won the ball - Ashley Cole's never touched and has jumped up in the air - and then (Didier) Drogba's pulled Brown to the ground for the goal. "The referee's position to make the decision was absolutely ridiculous, he can't see anything. He's got a Chelsea player (Joe Cole) standing right in front of him and he doesn't even move. "It was a bad decision, but there's nothing we can do about it. You lose faith in refereeing sometimes, that's the way the players are talking in there - it was a bad one." Arsenal are now in second place in the table, level on points with United, but as the Premier League's top goal-scorers, they have a far superior goal difference.