United maintain their unbeaten home stretch
1-0 to the Red Devils, and Arsenal have now not won at Old Trafford since 2006. The hosts have Park to thank for, as his moment of brilliance was enough to clinch the game for them, despite Rooney screwing up an undeserved penalty in the final third of the game. The Old Trafford outfit held their nerves against the late onslaught and an outright physical display from the Gunners, to leapfrog the visitors to pole position. The loss also exposed Arsenal’s inability to deliver the odds against the Big 2 teams, and Wenger surely needs some steel in the defense and midfield if he casts a realistic eye on the title.
Park continues his Arsenal Love Affair
The South Korean has now notched three goals against the Gunners in his last three games, proving to be the proverbial thorn in the flesh alongside Rooney and Drogba. In a nervy first half, which seemingly was headed for a stalemate at half time, Park spiced up the proceedings with a very well taken and instant back-tilted header off a deflected Nani cross, which looped over Szczesny into the far post despite the Pole’s best attempt to stop it. His positioning and quick thinking highlights his importance in the big games featuring United, as he has always delivered the goods.
Song not on song
The Cameroonian had a terrible game, misplacing most of Arsenal’s passes and indulging in sloppy tackles, including a sly one on Fletcher when the referee wasn’t looking. What despairs the Arsenal fans is the fact that he found himself in two or three positions to make a clear pass to Chamakh, but instead gave the ball away; had it been Nasri or Wilshere in his place, Arsenal would have probably been a goal up. It’s high time Alex Song goes back to the basics of defending and sticks to his DM position instead of exposing the midfield with his forward runs. Wenger, enough of trying to fool the opposition defenders high up the pitch; you don’t have the right personnel to cover up for him.
Wenger – more problems than solutions
Despite all the talk about proving Evra wrong and proving that Arsenal had it in them to perform on the big stage, Le Prof was once again left with several wrinkles on his forehead, as he saw his side unable to break through a resilient United defense backed by the crowded midfield. The fact that Nasri was unable to contribute much and Chamakh had to drop deep most of the time showcased Ferguson’s superior tactics once again; not even the strong bench of Arsenal was enough to salvage a point, as United suffocated the midfield and cut short the supply to Chamakh and van Persie. While the defense performed admirably, the creative section of the team were unable to string together even a single decent pass and couldn’t create any notable chances. Wenger needs a long hard look at changing his tactics and not make the same mistakes over and over again. But it will perhaps take a loss in the upcoming fixture against Chelsea, should it happen, to open his eyes to the glaring frailties in his team; the left back position and the defensive midfield areas assume the highest priorities here.
Fergie’s right about Arsenal
The Manchester United Gaffer had claimed that Arsenal are as physical as the team during the Keown days, and he was not proven wrong in the game. The Gunners doled out a physical approach against the home team to break down their fluent attacking style, and the Red Devils were forced to reply in kind. The result? A game of sloppy passes and mistimed tackles, which made Howard Webb a very busy man during the night. Song and Clichy were carded for their rash tackles, while Fletcher and co did a tit for tat on Arsenal but escaped without punishment. To his credit, Webb got most of the decisions right, except for the penalty decision, and ensured the game went on with a few hiccups.
Rooney continues his barren form
The striker has yet to score from open play since his goal against Bayern Munich, and many football fans were backing the United talisman to end his goal drought against his ‘favorite opponents’. However, Rooney once again failed to register his name on the score sheet, having been marked superbly by the alert Koscielny and the solid Squillaci. He had a chance to continue his goal scoring form against the Gunners from the penalty spot, but contrived to miss wide off the mark. He had one more chance to score off a counter, but his chip was brilliantly saved by Arsenal’s rookie custodian Szczesny. The English striker must be thankful to the Gunners for being inept in making use of his missed opportunity.
Arsenal’s future in safe hands?
Just a few months ago, Wojciech Szczesny cried for a move away from Arsenal due to lack of playing time, as he was facing competition from a rejuvenated Fabianski and a recovering Almunia. Wenger put all fears of losing the talented Polish shotstopper to rest by rewarding him with a new long term contract and promoting him to second spot ahead of Almunia. No one, including himself, would have expected him to make his League debut against the Red Devils, and there were murmurs about his composure and inexperience at such a critical juncture. However, the Pole overcame his initial hiccups and delivered a composed performance, collecting United crosses with ease and handling all shots on goal with equanimity. There was nothing he could do about Park’s looping header, but he made amends for it with denying Anderson a certain one-on-one goal and pulling off an instinctive save off a goal-bound Rooney chip. It may be too early to say that Arsenal have found their best goalie since Seaman, but Wojciech is certainly an exciting prospect for the future.