UNAI EMERY blamed record-buy Nicolas Pepe as Arsenal’s Bramall Lane curse continued.
The Gunners’ £72million summer signing missed a sitter when the game was goalless – and is yet to score from open play for his new club.
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Lys Mousset then struck for the brilliant Blades, as Arsenal, who have never won at Sheffield United in the Premier League in four attempts, missed the chance to go third.
Gunners boss Emery moaned: “The chance for us, for Pepe, was the key.
“Because if they score the first goal, defensively they are a very strong team.
“Pepe is improving but the next step for him is to score.
“Usually he is going to score chances like that – but tonight he didn’t take his chance.”
Emery also believes VAR missed a “clear penalty” when Sokratis appeared to be hauled down by John Egan in the sixth minute.
The Spaniard said: “I was on the bench and I saw it perfectly.
“He won the timing of the header and for me it was a clear penalty.
“I think the VAR is for this reason. We need to help the referees.”
Arsenal have failed to win any of their last four away games in the Premier League.
But Emery added: “We prepare for the matches the same, home and away.
“We did not deserve to lose. We deserved more.”
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Mousset’s goal came from a Sheffield United corner – and Chris Wilder revealed he sensed Arsenal were weak at set-pieces.
The jubilant Blades boss, whose side are up to ninth, admitted: “We looked at a lot of footage.
“Whether they mark zonally or go man-to-man, we want to put it into an area with quality.
“Without giving too much away, it’s an opportunity of scoring a goal.
“We have got some brave boys who want to stick their head on it.
“We have to ask questions of team who come to Bramall Lame – we are up for the battle.
“It’s not the biggest result in the club’s history but it’s a fantastic one.”
Wilder also hailed his match-winner Mousset, who was making his first league start.
He added: “It was brilliant for him. He had something for us that was a little bit different.”
Mousset, a summer signing from Bournemouth, celebrated his goal by hugging Wilder.
And the French forward explained: “I wanted to say thank you to the manager for bringing me to Sheffield United.”
