Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick remains optimistic that the Red Devils can overhaul Arsenal in the race for the title.Following derby day defeat to Manchester City, the Premier League champions could fall five points off the pace if Arsenal beat Blackburn on Monday night.

But, while Carrick acknowledged the disappointment of losing to City, he is staying upbeat about United's hopes of retaining their crown.

"There are still games to play," Carrick told MUTV. "I don't think Arsenal will go the rest of the season without dropping points. If they did, fair play to them.

"There are still going to be ups and downs in the title race, and hopefully there will be more ups for us and we can overtake them."

Carrick, who scored United's consolation after coming on as a substitute in the 2-1 defeat, was also pleased to see the minute's silence to mark the 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster respected by everyone inside Old Trafford.

He added: "Scoring doesn't really mean much because we lost, we're all desperately disappointed.

"We never got going and didn't create the chances we normally do. That's not like us.

"It was good to see that the minute's silence was well observed. But in terms of the game we're not going home happy."

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