Gunners fail yet again at Old Trafford
This was a battle for the top spot in the English Premier League, as Arsenal and Manchester United faced each other at Old Trafford. Some of the Chilean mine survivors were invited as guests to witness one of the most important matches in the league. In
the end, it was a great spectacle for these guests as United eventually came out on top and defeated Arsenal 1-0.
Arsenal has not shown a great record against Manchester United in recent years. Out of their last eight matches against them, Gunners have won only a single match. Last season, United beat Arsenal both at home and away, rather easily. Again, Arsenal were
way below the mark as they did less to pose a threat to a strong Manchester United side. Park Ji-Sung was the scorer for United and his goal was enough to separate both teams in the end.
Sir Alex Ferguson made some interesting decisions regarding the team selection. The top-scorer for United this season, Dimitar Berbatov, was left on the bench and Park Ji-Sung was chosen in his place. However, in the end it proved to be a great decision
as the Korean captain gave United their only goal of the match. Apart from that, Manchester united looked solid, especially in defence as all their senior members were present for this big encounter.
Arsene Wenger, Arsenal's Manager, also made some interesting decisions before the match. Despite having Robin Van Persie in previous weeks, Wenger chose to let him stay on the bench. Marouane Chamakh was playing as the sole striker for the team, against
a strong and resilient Manchester United defence, with the best home record in the league. Also, Cesc Fabregas was back after his hamstring problem but he was kept as a substitute as well. Also, Wojciech Szczesny was given his debut in this important encounter
asthe goalkeeper.
As Sir Alex Ferguson’s choices proved significant in deciding the outcome of the match, Arsene Wenger failed tactically. Chamakh won a lot of headers against United’s defence, but Nemanja Vidic was too strong for the youngster to handle. The Serbian defender
did not give any room or freedom to the Gunners’ striker and kept him away from goal. Szczesny was the only exception for Arsenal in the match as the youngster had a great game and he saved some of the shots as well.
None of the big players from Arsenal impressed during the match. Samir Nasri showed a little flair, but Tomas Rosicky, Andrei Arshavin and Jack Wilshere were the major disappointments for Wenger. Even the substitutes, including Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott,
had a poor show against United. Walcott missed an open chance in the end while Fabregas looked shaky in the passing. In the end, it was too easy for the United players who were rarely threatened by a lackluster Arsenal attack.
Ferguson also proved to be better than Arsene Wenger, tactically, on the day. He threw a lot of bodies forward and they created many chances in front of Arsenal’s goal. Nani had a great game on the right wing and he had an upper hand on Arsenal’s fullback,
Gael Clichy. Clichy gave a penalty in the end as well, but Wayne Rooney shot the ball towards the moon with keeper going on the wrong side. Arsenal, on the other hand, had fewer bodies in the box, during their attacking moves which eventually caused no problems
for the back-four of the Red Devils.
With this victory, United moves on top of the English Premier League table, with a match in hand. Arsenal moves back in second place. The unbeaten run of Manchester United continues and the team looks right on the track for yet another Premier League title.
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