Arsenal fail to deliver on the big stage against Manchester United.
Arsenal went into the match against Manchester United as table toppers, but they couldn't come out of it in a similar way. It was the same old case against the same old face for Arsenal, an inability to register a league win at Old Trafford, a win which
would've kept them at the top of the table, four points ahead of United. A win which would've helped dismiss the notion that Arsenal are incapable of sustaining a title bid, and that Arsenal are a "training center" as Patrice Evra so provocatively branded
them.
But you feel there might just be some truth to it. For anyone who saw the match, it was pretty clear that Arsenal left their A-game behind, in London. The game Arsenal played was dry, in every aspect of the word. And the way United had set up didn't help
Arsenal's cause. United deployed a predominantly defensive mentality with three holding midfielders and just one striker up top. And yet the fact that United still managed to prove more dangerous in attacking third says a lot about Arsenal's mentality.
Arsenal's plethora of attacking talent only managed to fashion one clear cut chance in the whole match. And even that was quelled by the ever reliable Nemanja Vidic. It wasn't a case about Arsenal not having the ability to cause a threat, the problem was
that in the face of narrow staunch defending, Arsenal couldn't find a backdoor in. Their inability to change their ways according to the demands of the circumstances will hinder them in any future tussles against the big teams.
Arsenal handed a debut to reserve goalkeeper Wojciech Sczceny on account of an injury to Lukasz Fabianski, who had been keeping goal for the past two months. Sczceny has been publicly crying out for a chance to tend goal for Arsenal, and Arsene Wenger obliged
by giving him his debut in a match of the utmost importance and in a stadium that is like a pressure cooker, further cause for concern for a rookie goal keeper. And yet he came out of the match with great aplomb. He made two stunning instinctive saves, one
from an Anderson 1 on 1 and the other from a majestic Rooney lob where Sczceny had to back peddle and dive to thwart the United striker. It was a debut to be proud of, and he could've done nothing about the goal. If this is a sign of things to come then Arsenal
might just've solved their goalkeeping problems.
The match itself was exactly the opposite of what was predicted. It was tight, congested with no space to work. What was anticipated was an open game of expansive football but it turned out to be anything but. Arsenal tried to force the issue with a team
featuring the attacking talents of Samir Nasri, Andrei Arshavin, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Marouane Chamakh and later on even world class talents like Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie and Theo Walcott were thrown on, but even they couldn't put a dent in
the impregnable United sheild which consisted of Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Rafael Da Silva, Darren Fletcher, Anderson and Michael Carrick. It was a negative team selection by Ferguson, albeit one that worked and brought the result that was
needed.
A 1-0 scoreline certainly wasn't flattering to United, they deserved it. They stuck to their assigned positions religiously, not straying one bit, and the team as a whole never put a single foot wrong. They worked as a cohesive unit under the strict command
of their cheif. They let Arsenal have the ball but shut up shop infront of the goal, never giving Arsenal a single sight, not even a glance at the goal. Except for the one time when Nasri shimmied past two defenders and his shot was parried on by Van Der Sar,
Marouane Chamakh looked to tap in the follow up but an alert Vidic dove straight in to deflect the shot wide and out for a corner. That was the highlight of Arsenal's day. Even United's goal had an element of intense fortune about it, where a Nani cross deflected
off Clichy and consequently threw off Koscielny and Sczceny's reading of it, and landed straight onto Park's head who looped the header over the keeper and into the far corner of the net. Rooney missed a penalty too, but it really didn't matter in the end.
For Arsenal, this game had a q***r lacking of the Arsenal spirit and mentality. It was like they weren't up for it, like they couldn't fathom a win at Old Trafford, let alone acheive it. Their beleif, for some reason, was shot from the word go. And that
will be worrying for Wenger, his players lacked motivation, the only player who gave it his all was Wilshere, and thus Wenger will need to find a new way to motivate his charges. But the good news in all of this is that Wenger may just've found an answer to
his prayers in the form of Sczceny. The young pole put in a commendable performance with some valiant efforts in an extremely hostile environment. If he can repeat these performances from now on then he'll be the Arsenal no.1 in no time.
For United it was a case of getting the result by any means neccessary. Even if that meant altering their team completely. But in the grand scheme of things the only thing that matters is the final score, and United for one have that. Now they lead the pack
by two points and a game in hand. The title race now is for United, and they can further consolidate their position at the top with a win at Stamforb Bridge. The frightening thing is, United are yet to find their rhythm.
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