Manchester United returned to the top of the Premier League after the last day of the last season as they over powered & attacked an Arsenal Team that never got going until the 94th minute.
MANCHESTER United: De Gea; Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Young; Rooney, van Persie SUBS: Lindegaard, Anderson, Hernandez, Nani, Scholes, Powell, Wootton. Formation: 4-4-2
ARSENAL: Mannone, Sagna, Santos, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Arteta, Wilshere, Ramsey, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud. Subs: Martinez, Koscielny, Jenkinson, Coquelin, Arshavin, Walcott, Chamakh. Formation – 4-4-2
The match begun with Van Persie giving a hug to each of his former team mates inside the tunnel. The Arsenal were moving the ball out by passing between them. But they lost the ball in the right wing to Valencia who brilliantly back flicked past Santos which allowed Rafael to surge forward a poor cross into the box. The cross was poorly cleared by the Arsenal Captain Vermaelen and the rebound went direct to the former Arsenal Captain and current United prodigy RVP who coolly finished past Mannone with his weaker right foot to score his 10th goal of the season. United lead inside the first 3 minutes.
Van Persie Scored against his former clubThe early setback led to a cautious display from Arsenal who were moving the ball cautiously & were trying to get their passing game going, switching the ball between the flanks often. It was a quiet match; until Wilshere went on to make a cynical challenge on his national team mate Cleverley producing the first yellow of the match which would later prove to be a crucial yellow on the 14th minute. Valencia was a constant threat on the wing combining well with Rafael very often giving the young Arsenal defender Andre Santos a torrid time. Arsenal lost the ball to Evra that allowed Rooney to put RVP through but another superb save by Mannone denied the 2nd goal of the night for United & RVP in the 21st minute.
Once again Valencia put Rafael through on the 22nd minute that was cleared off for a corner after a dangerous set of attacking moves. Mannone was the only reason Arsenal were still only down by a goal. The first real move from arsenal came on the 23rd minute when Ramsey beat Evra on the flanks to shoot it to the box for only for De Gea to make a good save & being cleared of the box by United’s defense. Arsenal needed more of these moves to take the game to United, which unfortunately never came.
Andre Santos was having a torrid time with Valencia, as once again his cross led to a series of shots on the brilliant Mannone who stood up to the challenge in what was a thrilling attacking display around arsenal box for atleast a minute. Arsenal survived, yet again thanks to Mannone. Young was booked for a foolish tackle on Sagna which was one among the nine yellow cards the day. United were much settled by this time having reached the half hour mark. United missed another wonderful chance during which United’s forward were 4 on 2 with Arsenal Defense, but Cleverley’s poor cross meant that the move was broken. The match was very much played in the midfield, with both the defense being cautious & comfortable in moving the ball. Both the teams were defending well with the half time fast approaching.
United needed that second goal which was eluding them until the 1st minute of the stoppage time of first half when Young curled in a ball to the box which was stopped by the jumping Cazrola who stuck his hand out to save him being knocked out. Mike Dean pointed to the penalty spot for what was a hard call on the Spaniard. But it was justice served for a hard call on Arsenal as Rooney put the penalty well wide which was his 7th miss out of the last 20 penalties he has taken. Not the first time we have seen the United hitman missing penalties often. Arsenal survived once again, thanks to Rooney this time. Halftime came, United were leading 1-0 possibly which could have been 2-0. There was not much for arsenal to cheer about apart from the shot that was shot by Ramsey.
Second half began with another piece of dreadful defending from Vermaelen which led to a 2 on 2 attack against Arsenal defense which allowed RVP to cross it to Valencia on the 47th min which was missed by Valencia who tripped over the ball. Another series of shots were aimed at arsenal’s defense, it was just a matter of time before their defense succumbed to the pressure. A rare Arsenal move saw Santos putting a wonderful low cross into the box, but there was none there to make the most advantage of it.
Wenger had enough of the non-attacking display from his side as he prepared to bring on Walcott in the 51st minute who replaced Ramsey. Arsenal were getting the momentum now as they hit the cross bar once & they had a free kick on 59th minute but was easily cleared by an assured United defense. Moving into the last half hour of the game, RVP was booked on the 60th minute for the second cynical tackle of the night on Sagna. Anderson replaced Cleverley in the 61st minute & we were seeing Arsene Wenger giving an AVB pose on the sidelines; kind of a rare pose from the great man, but one that showed his love for the club & wanting them to attack more. A silly free kick from Carrick gave Arsenal a golden opportunity to equalize, but everyone missed it due to the sun right on the players face & by the time an Arsenal man reacted the ball had gone past for a goal kick.
In the 65th minute Young showed glimpses of his two beautiful curlers through which he scored last season against the same opponents that put RVP through for a one-on-one with Mannone but once again the young Arsenal Keeper kept it out for a corner. But that corner led to the much needed 2nd goal for United as Rooney’s brilliant cross was nodded into the back of the net by Evra who scored his second goal of the season. United lead 2-0 in the 67th minute. Arsenal were still getting nothing into United’s half and they were playing within themselves. Walcott was badly being starved for the ball. They needed to take the risks now to move forward, but United were comfortable in defending. But Arsenal’s day was from bad to worse, as wilshere was booked for the 2nd time to get a Red. A silly tackle on Evra and he will be suspended for a match. Arsenal were reduced to 10 men. Anderson was booked next for a challenge on Arteta. The United fans kept singing United’s defense was pretty comfortable; Arsenal’s attack was as blunt as it could get. Rooney was booked for a foul on his England mate Walcott on the 81st minute. Podolski was taken off to bring Arshavin & Nani came in for Valencia. Another card & it was for the just in Arshavin for bringing Rafael down.
United were running the clock down but trying to increase their goal difference by putting attacks after attacks again, but Arsenal were doing well in containing them. Another yellow showed by the referee Dean for Arteta for raising his arm high on RVP. A horde of yellows today, totaling to nine which was the most thrilling part of the match considering the boring nature. Four minutes were added on and one chance for Arsenal probably to get a consolation which was saved by De Gea’s legs in the 92nd minute. That really summed up Arsenal’s attack for the day. But finally Arsenal were able to get a consolation goal with a superb finish from Cazrola in the 94th min which led to the whistle to end the match. United won 2-1.
United had the early lead taken after which both teams played it out on the midfield. Arsenal defended very well clearing attack after attack by United until the 67th minute which saw Evra nodding home the 2nd. Arsenal never really got going in the attacking game, probably a sign that they need a different strategy or Walcott to start in the future in big games. While United should have finished the game in the first half, they put on a wonderful show getting attack after attack & defending with such calm & assurance that has never been seen from them this season. Evans was such an assurance on the back clearing every ball. Rooney was effectively named a striker, but as we all know he slogged it out on every part of the pitch effectively providing that cross that lead to United’s 2nd goal. All in all a brilliant Manchester United performance that kept them on the top since Chelsea were held on to a draw against Swansea. As for Arsenal & Arsene Wenger, lots to think about especially in the bigger games of the season.
Comments are closed.