Theo Walcott admits he was to blame for Manchester United’s goal at Old Trafford after he failed to track goalscorer Juan Mata into the box.

The Spanish midfielder was left totally unmarked on 68 minutes as he raced into the box and calmly slotted home Ander Herrera’s pull back to give the home side a deserved lead.

Replays showed Walcott hesitate in his defensive duties, a mistake he was quick to admit when he faced the media after the game.

“I’m just disappointed because my positioning on the goal was disappointing from my side of it,” Walcott told Sky Sports. “Because defensively I want to (cover that). I’ve been doing that all season.

“I knew that was my man to get in there. So on a personal level that’s very disappointing for myself. But the guys, they did well and we managed to get that point that we deserved.”

Luckily for Walcott, Mata’s goal wasn’t enough to secure the points for Jose Mourinho. Olivier Giroud’s crashing header on 89 minutes stole a point for the Gunners on an afternoon when their performance was well below par.

“Maybe in years gone by we would have probably lost that game,” Walcott reflected.

“We need to turn these draws into wins… But in years gone by this is a very tough place for us to play and we managed to get a result today.”