Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney have made respectful noises about Arsenal.
So has Sir Alex.
They would say those things. Why would they say anything else before this game? It would be wholly unprofessional to say anything else.
One of my mantras on managers is : Look at what they do, not at what they say.
Sir Alex rested three players at Celtic on Wednesday night. He had Rooney, Berbatov and Evra on the bench. He also had Anderson on the bench and didn’t use him.
Why? Because Fergie would rather draw with Celtic and beat Arsenal than beat Celtic and draw with Arsenal.
Rooney and Giggs have never won at the Emirates. They think they should have done last year but it didn’t happen for them. We all remember the draw on Saturday November 3, 2007 although what I now remember about the game is not even close to what I wrote in Arsenal 2 Man Utd 2 : 10 observations.
With Berbatov, Manchester United are stronger now, while Arsenal, without Flamini, are weaker.
In the circumstances, bearing in mind Arsenal’s recent sequence, a 1-1 draw today would be a great result and could save Arsenal’s season.
But a 4-0 hiding might kill their belief.
Usually we say : It’s always a tight game. But this will only be a tight game if United score first and shut up shop.
Silvestre could play with four stitches in his nose. If any team knows his weaknesses, it’s United. And, as we know by now, when Wayne Rooney plays against Arsenal, something always happens.
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