Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted that Arsenal deserved to triumph in Wednesday night's Premier League clash between the two teams.

First-half goals from Nicolas Pepe and Sokratis Papastathopoulos saw the Gunners record a 2-0 win over their long-term rivals at the Emirates Stadium on New Year's Day.

Solskjaer said that he was pleased with his side's start to the contest but conceded that Arsenal "were the better team" over the course of the 90 minutes.

"I thought we started off decent, had two or three really good counter-attacking opportunities, we just weren't precise enough with the final shot or pass," Solskjaer told reporters.

"They were the better team, they were aggressive, regained the ball, we couldn't find a way out of their press, it was hard to get the ball off them because they played really well. It was a good game by two good teams."

United's next Premier League match is against Norwich City on January 11, although they will play twice before then, taking on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup and Manchester City in the EFL Cup.