EPL Update: Manchester United beat Arsenal 1-0 (Part I)
There was something warming about the frosty relationship between Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson on a chilly Monday night. Things have certainly moved on between the two managers since the infamous 'battle of the buffet' at Old Trafford in 2004, mainly
because United's main title rivals in the last six years have been Chelsea. This season could turn out to be a different story though.
Veteran midfielder Paul Scholes failed a late fitness test. Premier League’s top scorer Dimitar Berbatov was left out, so Wayne Rooney was spearheading the United attack, while Berbatov was on the bench. Sir Alex Ferguson went with a 4-5-1 formation.
Twenty-year-old Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny made his Premier League debut for Arsenal in place of Lukasz Fabianski, while Cesc Fabregas was on the bench. Marouane Chamakh was leading the Arsenal attack while full-back Gael Clichy replaced the injured
Kieran Gibbs. The last Arsenal keeper to make his league debut versus Manchester United was Stuart Taylor in a 3-1 win at Highbury in Nov 2001.
Wojciech Szczesny was straight away called into action in the opening 10 seconds, as he punted a back pass clear. That went alright, but his second touch a couple of minutes later was not so clever. His clearance found a United player, about 30 yards out.
As the ball fell to Wayne Rooney, he was flagged offside.
Arsenal came forward with purpose, and Andrey Arshavin found Alex Song on the edge of the area. He got space for a shot, but his touch left him down and United cleared.
United had a free-kick out on the right when Gael Clichy tripped Nani - it looked painful. Anderson curled the ball towards the back post but it failed to beat the first defender. Wayne Rooney then controlled a long ball up field, turned on the edge of the
box and made space for a shot that dipped in front of the young Pole. He stopped it, and hung on to the ball too.
It was end-to-end stuff as Marouane Chamakh dived in front of Nemanja Vidic to connect with a cross from the left, but his header failed to trouble Edwin van der Sar. Nani took a free-kick, about 35 yards out, and he went straight for goal. United seemed
determined to keep testing Wojciech Szczesny but Nani's shot lacked power to cause any trouble.
Arsenal were not exactly shy in the tackle and conceded a lot of free-kicks in the first 15 minutes, but Howard Webb kept the cards in his pocket. A real chance went begging as Andrey Arshavin chased down a lost cause in the far corner and won the ball back
too. It was a shame as his cross was too deep for Marouane Chamakh and there was no-one else in the box.
United had opportunity to open the scoring minutes later as Darren Fletcher’s cross from the right and Sebastien Squillaci's subsequent header fell for Nani, who drilled a first-time shot a whisker wide of the far post. It was much better by United - Nani
started that move, and nearly finished it with the opening goal.
It was Arsenal's turn to threaten, as Marouane Chamakh appeared to be blocked by Rafael as he tried to reach Samir Nasri's cross on the edge of the six yard box. A slight shout for plenty but referee waived play-on. A bigger shout for a penalty at the other
end as Marouane Chamakh made a complete mess of a clearing header. It flicked off Anderson, came off Chamakh's head and TV replays showed it hit his hand. Again, Howard Webb says no.
It was a cagey affair as both teams were guilty of giving away cheap possession. It was scrappy from both teams in midfield as there was no room to maneuver the ball. Arsenal were inviting United by giving the ball straight back from attempted clearances.
Darren Fletcher was furious after being blocked off by Alex Song, especially because Howard Webb played advantage and Wayne Rooney lost the ball soon afterwards. Sir Alex Ferguson felt exactly the same way on the touchline.
Ji-Sung Park notched his fourth goal in seven starts against the Gunners with a spontaneous header. Gael Clichy deflected Nani's cross into Park, who had to twist to get his head to the ball and somehow directed it into the top corner. It was a quality finish
but with an element of luck. United were a goal to the good as half-time approached.
It was fast and frantic but nevertheless fascinating. Great improvisation by Park for the goal whereas Arsenal's fearsome attack failed to click in first-half. As things stand at half-time, United were two points clear at the top, with a game in hand on
the rest of the top four. Now we can see why Chelsea skipper John Terry said yesterday that he was desperate for this game to end up in a draw.
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