Red Devils and Gunners Disappoint Again

Manchester United 1 Arsenal 0

What is it with Arsenal and failing to perform against their fellow Premier League heavyweights? A 75000 plus crowd watching, including guests of honour the Chilean miners, at Old Trafford and yet again two of English football’s giants failed to live up to the hype. It’s always the same old story and to be honest I’m growing tired of telling it. When these sides match one another in formation the middle of the park is more congested than the M8 has been at rush hour in Scotland’s worst snowdrifts for forty years. The Red Devils snatch a goal late in one half that gets put down to a mistake or improvisation (read luck) and Wenger’s men pass incessantly, creating nothing but frustration for the supporters as United repel their build ups and take home the points.

Who doesn’t love Arsenal’s football philosophy? When it works you never get tired of seeing it, but when it doesn’t there’s no plan B, no alternative tactics and when they’re chasing the game in the last five minutes looking for an equaliser there’s still no urgency. If it drives me, a humble commentator, nuts, think what it does to the Gunners faithful! Sometimes you can’t help but think their big names are afraid of putting in performances against top opposition. Arshavin was ineffective again and why Wenger left replacing him with Walcott so late I’ll never know. Nasri has been the outstanding player of the Londoners’ season so far, but where are his contributions in the big matches? Without service from the wide areas and the centre of midfield a maze of tackles and inaccurate passing Chamakh had little more than scraps to feed on.

It’s not entirely recriminations for Wenger though. What a bold move on his part it was to hand highly rated young keeper Szczesny a league debut in the trip to Old Trafford, but he acquitted himself well. There was nothing the Polish stopper could have done about the goal which Park Ji-Sung could never have meant. That responsibility must go to the failure of Arsenal to track his run and the static nature of Koscielny and Squillaci. Szczesny saved superbly from an audacious chip from Rooney and although there is room for improvement with his kicking, he commanded the box well and held onto most shots that the Red Devils fired at him.

Nani has come on so much since he signed for United. He now looks a threat from either flank because the full back doesn’t know whether he’ll go to the byline or cut inside. The latter is more often than not the option he takes, evidenced by his coming in from the right and producing the deflected cross for the game’s only goal. The Portuguese winger’s ability was never in doubt, but the question mark remained about end product. He seems to have largely answered that now.

Apart from missing a penalty, Rooney played well. He seems to be so much more disciplined about his play at club level. There was only a fraction of the dropping deep to get the ball in tonight’s encounter compared with an international game. After Park's late first half strike the Red Devils sat on their lead and showed their usual mediocre ambitions of attempting to increase their lead only on the counter. Hardly the most proactive approach a home team can take, but they absorbed pressure from the Gunners, ensuring all the opposition's possession was in front of the back four with incisiveness seldom seen. In Fletcher, Carrick and Anderson there is a solid central threesome, but no player who really knows how to support the attack with any real purpose.

Nonetheless Ferguson’s men have now gone top of the Premier League with this win and remain unbeaten. This match was a test of Arsenal’s title credentials and again they have been found wanting. It is disappointing they just didn’t produce a better display because there’s precious little that’s constructive for Wenger and Gunners fans to take from it.