"Let's stay positive," Marcus Rashford's Twitter account wrote at 7.34pm. Erik ten Hag had struck a different tone only minutes before.
Ten Hag questioned United players' discipline and mentality. He lamented their mistakes and opined Arsenal wanted it more. He denied the players any excuses. Three times he mentioned "top level":
"You can't give such a goal away like we did on top level. Then you can't win trophies."
"We also have to notice today we have a way to go to be on top level."
"Excuses are not possible at the top level."
Also read: Ten Hag explains why he didn't make an attacking change at 2-2
If Ten Hag had back-slapped the players for gallantly losing to the Premier League's leaders it would have been anathema to any United supporter with standards. It would have been a betrayal of Ten Hag's own ethos.
United conceded 90th-minute goals in successive matches four days apart. The glass has to be half empty.
"Maybe in the next couple of hours realise we are in a good position, realise we are in a good development, a good process. But at this moment I am annoyed," Ten Hag stressed in the press conference room.
United are fourth 20 games into the Premier League season, six points clear of Tottenham and 10 better off than Liverpool and Chelsea. They remain the only side who have beaten Arsenal and tested their resolve in an absorbing contest at the Emirates Stadium, the highest quality between the teams in five years.
In Lisandro Martinez, they have one of the signings of the season. Marcus Rashford is in the form of his life. Bruno Fernandes is worthy of the captain's armband. There is an eminently winnable two-legged cup semi-final and a straightforward path to the last 16 of the FA Cup over the next 10 days.
That perspective is not lost on the United supporters who packed out the away end on Sunday. "Last season my mates walked away at HT," one home and awayer messaged at full-time. "We left tonight thinking we're not far off, few tweaks and we're having them."
United's aim is to finish in the top four and ascend the steps of Wembley to collect winners' medals. Both of those feats are achievable and doable.
Few in the away section seriously considered United championship challengers. Had they taken four points last week then the chatter might have sustained but there is a reason why Ten Hag scoffed at a reporter bracketing United with "title race" after the derby. The giddiness revolved only around the uproarious result.
In victory and defeat, Ten Hag has a clearer picture of what is required for United to take the next steps. He candidly revealed he had "told the players if you want to win trophies, titles, you have to change our mentality because it's not possible you are in a top game, you're making three such big mistakes where you concede goals".
Ten Hag palpably rued the errors. He did not specify them but he did not need to. David de Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Christian Eriksen will be grateful they were not namechecked.
De Gea and Wan-Bissaka, so formidable in south London, were forlorn north of the Thames. Against high-calibre opponents, they buckled amid Arsenal's high line and there was visible confusion at the start of the contest.
In the 86th minute, Nketiah tapped De Gea, who feigned agony. What the cameras did not capture was Bruno Fernandes sprinting into the Arsenal half. If De Gea had the confidence to brush off Nketiah and ping it to Fernandes, he would have been through one-on-one. De Gea played for the draw and that jarred with Ten Hag's mentality.
Arsenal targeted De Gea whenever the ball was at his feet. "We expected the pressing from Arsenal in a certain way, they did it a little bit differently and then it's about reading the game," Ten Hag explained. "We could have read it better in the earlier moments but in the moment we read it we were quite well." Eddie Nketiah's eyes were as bright as the floodlights whenever the ball was in De Gea's vicinity.
Scott McTominay was the sticking plaster in midfield. At one stage in the second half, McTominay gathered the ball, carried it towards Arsenal's half and was suddenly crippled by an identity crisis. Martin Odegaard gratefully gathered the ball and United were boxed in again.
Ten Hag attempted to reenergise United by introducing Fred in the 71st minute yet three minutes later Wout Weghorst conserved energy as the ball made a rare roll into the Arsenal third. United fans railed against 11 white shirts behind the ball but the tone had been set and Ten Hag did not make an attacking change with the game deadlocked.
"It was the best set-up to win this game and of course we had some considerations to bring players in," he explained, "especially Garnacho can have an impact but we need a good press.
"We conceded two already from a corner - short corners but a lot of crosses there - and so I think Wout did a really good job there in the pressing, and in the heading on set plays.
"So Rashy - you don't want to take him off - with Bruno already we make a tactical (change). So we had our moments there and we also missed some players. So also on the bench you are limited in offensive, we know that."
Anthony Elanga and Facundo Pellistri are distrusted but Garnacho for Weghorst or Eriksen, two exhausted 30-year-olds, seemed logical. United could not transition from defence to attack without taking punts and Arsenal were prepared.
With or without Casemiro, United require a younger and more dynamic midfielder to grab a game by the lapels and retain the ball. Ten Hag left the door open for Frenkie de Jong long before the Arsenal defeat and if he could sign any player on the planet it would be Jude Bellingham.
A striker is United's summer priority but if they are to upgrade to a proactive possession-based game it cannot hinge on Eriksen beyond this season. The Dane could do with a breather this week with draining double-headers against Leeds and Barcelona on the calendar in February.
United are so strapped for cash they would have to obtain funds from player sales to finance a marquee midfielder. With Fred's contract extended, McTominay is an obvious fall guy.
Staying positive is easier for United under Ten Hag.
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