Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson shrugged off the boos from home fans after he substituted Wayne Rooney in the second-half of yesterday's 1-0 defeat by Arsenal.

Alex Ferguson said: "The fans don't want to see their heroes coming off, but two games in four days after being out for a while takes its toll.

"We can't deny Arsenal deserve to win. We had some opportunities but not enough to win.

"It's a disappointing result but I don't think it was a bad performance - but we can play better."

Fergie also backed Cristiano Ronaldo for losing possession that lead to Adebayor's goal.

The Scot said: "Ronaldo lost possession because he will always try to beat men. That's the kind of player he is and the kind of player we want here.

"He's a great player and these things happen - it could have been any other player. This was Arsenal's first win after four games and our first defeat after five. It's a difficult league.

"Chelsea have lost one game and Liverpool two which shows the nature of the league now.

"It's not going to be easy. We watched Chelsea v Liverpool and Liverpool should have won it."