Sir Alex Ferguson has complained that Manchester United’s bid for a third consecutive Barclays Premier League title is being undermined by an unbalanced fixture list. United have taken a solitary point from their meetings with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, their main challengers for the title, but Ferguson believes that his team have been “handicapped” by an unforgiving programme.

Having seen United beaten 2-1 away to Arsenal on Saturday, a result that leaves them eight points adrift of Chelsea and Liverpool, albeit with a game in hand, Ferguson bemoaned the fact that one of his team’s most important fixtures had been scheduled three days after a Champions League match away to Celtic.

All six of United’s six Champions League group matches have been or will be followed by tough away assignments – against Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur – and Ferguson believes that the situation is unfair, even though he said that fatigue did not appear to be a contributing factor on Saturday.

“They say the league is not handicapped, but I’m not so sure,” Ferguson said. “Having every game away from home following a European tie is not easy. Going from Celtic on Wednesday to play at Arsenal the following Saturday lunchtime is hard, although, funnily enough, I didn’t think it was a problem on this occasion.”

If playing away from home immediately after a Champions League fixture is indeed a disadvantage – as José Mourinho, the former Chelsea manager, frequently complained – it is a schedule that has also handicapped Arsenal, five of whose group games are succeeded by away matches in the league, and played into the hands of Chelsea and Liverpool, who have been handed five and four home fixtures respectively in the Premier League immediately after their six group matches in Europe.

Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, was delighted that his team made the most of their home advantage, claiming a much-needed victory with two goals from Samir Nasri, who has no doubt that his team are serious contenders for the Premier League title. “We are back in it, but we always thought we were in it anyway, even before that game,” Nasri said. “We know what we can do and we can definitely achieve the title this season.

“It was important to win this game against United. We know that the title can be achieved by the games against the other big teams and we have shown now that we can do it. The most important thing is to keep going like that and not be too complacent.”

Cesc Fàbregas was similarly upbeat about Arsenal’s prospects, though he was eager to play down the idea that the club had been in crisis until Saturday. “People get carried away sometimes,” the midfield player said. “If you ask Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United, they will all say the same thing because we don’t know who will win it. We have played 11 or 12 games, which is nothing. We are at the start. We know there will be a lot of teams at the top at the end of the season and we want to be one of them. But we want to win it and, by beating United, we have shown we have the quality to win it.”