Man U 2 Arsenal 0
A £28m signing was the main difference between the teams. Will Arsenal ever sign a £28m superstar? One paper suggests Wenger has a £46m transfer kitty for next season.
Arsenal’s nearest thing to it didn’t play – and that was a massive gamble, which ultimately didn’t pay off. Big players determine big games. But van Persie needs games, as well.
Was it a foretaste of next season without Henry? No-one knows.
This turned out to be another North West gaveyard for Arsenal – five defeats this season now in Lancashire, two in the North East, the 11th of the season overall – and for two thirds of the match – Man U were the better side.
Arsenal’s youthful defence was given a stern examination – and was found wanting in one or two areas. As the match progressed – Man U hit their rhythm, and after the Juve exertions Arsenal looked a bit jaded. The result – Man U looked like they wanted it more. The Arsenal defence found forward runs from Rooney and van Nistelroy increasingly difficult to deal with.
The fact Villareal kept Rooney and United at bay and Arsenal didn’t, is something Arsene Wenger must consider.
In the tunnel, this didn’t have the pre-match volcanic spite of previous encounters. However Gary Neville, as if fozen in time looked forward into space rather than welcoming opposing captain Gilberto. A Premiership record crowd of 70,908 greeted them on to the pitch.
Arsenal started where they’d left off against Juventus.
Soon they were testing van der Saar, as Fabregas passed to Hleb, who sent it to Adebayor – who backheeled to… no-one.
Pires set up a van Persie shot. Adebayor missed another chance. Van Persie and Giberto both had shots.
On 12, Neville crossed, Eboue cleared for a corner. Man U were a threat as O’Shea flicked it on in the area, Flamini toe-poked it away.
Van Nistelroy dived for a free kick, bringing back memories.
Arsenal had 61% of possession in first 15 minutes.
Eboue was caught out of position on a dribble.
Van Nistelroy slipped Rooney in and Lehamnn saved low down
Man U came into it more after 20. How much this had to do with Fabregas‘s ankle injury, is open to question. The ball was not sticking to Adebayor who lost it around six or seven times in the first half.
Eboue tackled Park well on the right wing.
Rooney ran into Pires and gained a free kick. Lehmann strangely punched it clear.
Flamini‘s running created a chance for Hleb who fired over.
The ball sat up well from a Ferdinand attempted clearance and van Persie hit it over with his left.
Neville hit an overhead, Toure misjudged it and Giggs headed over the bar.
Pires set up van Persie with a ball across the Man U area – he took his shot early, and van der Saar made a good one handed save low down.
Van Nistelroy, playing on the line of the last defender, worked himself clear but pulled it past Lehmann.
Rooney was put in by van Nistelroy. Lehmann tips it away, Toure dives, and in doing so it hits his hand and deflects on to the post. Lucky.
Gilberto gets a yellow at the beginning of the second for stepping across Giggs.
You could feel the creeping, growing pressure on Arsenal’s sagging shoulders. And on 54 van Persie lost a ball to Vidic who passed to Silvestre who sent a perfect cross over Senderos’s head. Rooney trapped it instantly and fired hard to Lehmann’s right.
Adebayor was shown inside by Gary Neville – and he shocked Old Trafford with a piledriver just over the bar.
Eboue then got to the line but he hit it too hard across the area – and van Persie couldn’t convert it.
Van Nistelroy went off, Saha came on. Van Persie and Fabregas [who limped out of Old Trafford with a problem with his right ankle] came off for Henry and Diaby.
Pires won a dangerous free kick for Henry, after he was fouled by O’Shea. But his kick was well wide.
Pires then fired low and hard into the area – and Adebayor couldn’t convert it.
Ljungberg came on for Hleb and Silvestre was booked for tripping him soon after. Ferdinand performed a fierce block tackle on Ljungberg.
Soon after, Neville found Rooney’s run on the right between Toure and Senderos. He withstood Senderos’s challenge from behind and fired a fast pass across to Park who beat Eboue, who had switched off.
The rest of the game was a foregone conclusion. Although Flamini had a shot – Pires and Gilberto gave away balls, and Adebayor, although not wanting for effort, needed more quality and craft to fashion a chance against this defence.
Arsene Wenger said: “We had some early chances which we didn’t take. In a big game that is costly. Man U looked physically sharper. At 1-0 up, it was difficult. We missed two great chances with van Persie and Adebayor. The second goal killed the game. It was on the break. We looked a bit jaded in the final half hour. That is why Man U probably deserved to win the game.”
Alex Ferguson said: ” It was a great attacking performance. With the form they were in – we wanted to give them a test – we decided to attack them and it worked. The first 15 – they always start well. When we got our rhythm and tempo going we did well.”
He added: “These are two fantasic football clubs who produce great football.”
Manchester Utd:Van der Sar, Neville, Silvestre, Ferdinand, O`Shea, Vidic, Park (Evra 83), Ronaldo, Giggs, van Nistelrooy (Saha 62), Rooney
Subs not used: Howard, Pique, Brown
Arsenal: Lehmann, Senderos, Eboue, Toure, Fabregas (Diaby 70), Flamini, Gilberto, Pires, Hleb (Ljungberg 73), Van Persie (Henry 70), Adebayor
Subs not used: Poom, Djourou