Here we go – it's that time of the year again!
Arsenal vs Man Utd - Saturday 3rd November 2007 - KO 12:45 GMT
As I have said time and time again in the past, to me this is the biggest away fixture of the season each year. It is sad that the rivalry between both the teams has died down a wee bit in the past few years – mostly due to the departure of some key warriors from each squad and the emergence of Chelsea. But this season, it has been a different story so far. Arsenal have taken the loss of Henry in their stride and punished each and every opposition they have played so far – champions or minnows. Goals are pouring week-in week-out and currently there is no scarcity of self-confidence in the camp. As much as I hate the team, I have to put my hand up and admit that their football has been absolutely fantastic for the past few months and much of the credit goes to the young, yet mature, Cesc Fabregas. As you would know, I have constantly heaved praise on the Spaniard for the past couple of seasons because of the calm passing and maturity he has shown at such a young age. But gosh, has he been a revelation this season or what! I am sure Arsene Wenger and the thousands of fans took a sigh of relief when Fabregas publicly announced his loyalty to the club at a time when Arsenal looked like going down the gutter. I know now you would bring up the incident when he threw the pizza at Sir Alex, which pretty much rules him out from becoming a Red anytime in the near future, but boy would there be a better replacement for Paul Scholes? I can’t think of one.
But hey, we do have Anderson! The kid was a key influence in the 4-2 win against Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday – he sprayed accurate passes all over the field and was unlucky to hit the opposition’s post. But Premiership is a different ball game all together and he is currently too young to start making any extravagant comments about his football. Though talent is definitely there and if unfortunately Scholes is ruled out with a knee injury, I don’t think he would get a bigger challenge than the opportunity to play the league leaders on their home ground. Our injury list is growing every day – Neville, Hargreaves, Carrick, Scholes, Evra, Silvestre, Saha and Park are just some of the key names that are currently missing. But 3rd Nov is still ages away and it would be interesting to see the final available squad in a week’s time. After what Rooney-Tevez partnership has delivered up front in the past couple of weeks, I wouldn’t be surprised if the gaffer sticks with them yet again. But I think the more expected one would be to have a 5-man midfield with Rooney either playing as a lone striker or supporting the midfield on the left. It all depends what player options are available, but one thing is for sure we have a memorable game of football in our hands. Our forwards have started to score goals again and the defenders have stood like a wall - United have the best defensive record in the league so far and it would be very interesting to see how Ferdinand copes with the strength of Adebayor or hopefully-fit Evra cancels out the Arsenal pace on the right. We have an easier (if I must dare say that) game against Boro this weekend rather than the prospect of facing Liverpool. This might or might not work in our favour, but I am sure next week’s game means a lot to both the teams and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 1-1 draw. Let's just hope for an open and creative match where football is the winner.
(After suddenly remembering last season's defeats in September and January)…...FUCK THAT!! I hope we stuff those bastards!!
Key players to watch:
Arsenal: Fabregas, Toure, Hleb
Man Utd: Ronaldo, Vidic, Rooney and Lehmann (if he plays!)
Arsenal vs Man Utd - Saturday 3rd November 2007 - KO 12:45 GMT
As I have said time and time again in the past, to me this is the biggest away fixture of the season each year. It is sad that the rivalry between both the teams has died down a wee bit in the past few years – mostly due to the departure of some key warriors from each squad and the emergence of Chelsea. But this season, it has been a different story so far. Arsenal have taken the loss of Henry in their stride and punished each and every opposition they have played so far – champions or minnows. Goals are pouring week-in week-out and currently there is no scarcity of self-confidence in the camp. As much as I hate the team, I have to put my hand up and admit that their football has been absolutely fantastic for the past few months and much of the credit goes to the young, yet mature, Cesc Fabregas. As you would know, I have constantly heaved praise on the Spaniard for the past couple of seasons because of the calm passing and maturity he has shown at such a young age. But gosh, has he been a revelation this season or what! I am sure Arsene Wenger and the thousands of fans took a sigh of relief when Fabregas publicly announced his loyalty to the club at a time when Arsenal looked like going down the gutter. I know now you would bring up the incident when he threw the pizza at Sir Alex, which pretty much rules him out from becoming a Red anytime in the near future, but boy would there be a better replacement for Paul Scholes? I can’t think of one.
But hey, we do have Anderson! The kid was a key influence in the 4-2 win against Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday – he sprayed accurate passes all over the field and was unlucky to hit the opposition’s post. But Premiership is a different ball game all together and he is currently too young to start making any extravagant comments about his football. Though talent is definitely there and if unfortunately Scholes is ruled out with a knee injury, I don’t think he would get a bigger challenge than the opportunity to play the league leaders on their home ground. Our injury list is growing every day – Neville, Hargreaves, Carrick, Scholes, Evra, Silvestre, Saha and Park are just some of the key names that are currently missing. But 3rd Nov is still ages away and it would be interesting to see the final available squad in a week’s time. After what Rooney-Tevez partnership has delivered up front in the past couple of weeks, I wouldn’t be surprised if the gaffer sticks with them yet again. But I think the more expected one would be to have a 5-man midfield with Rooney either playing as a lone striker or supporting the midfield on the left. It all depends what player options are available, but one thing is for sure we have a memorable game of football in our hands. Our forwards have started to score goals again and the defenders have stood like a wall - United have the best defensive record in the league so far and it would be very interesting to see how Ferdinand copes with the strength of Adebayor or hopefully-fit Evra cancels out the Arsenal pace on the right. We have an easier (if I must dare say that) game against Boro this weekend rather than the prospect of facing Liverpool. This might or might not work in our favour, but I am sure next week’s game means a lot to both the teams and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 1-1 draw. Let's just hope for an open and creative match where football is the winner.
(After suddenly remembering last season's defeats in September and January)…...FUCK THAT!! I hope we stuff those bastards!!
Key players to watch:
Arsenal: Fabregas, Toure, Hleb
Man Utd: Ronaldo, Vidic, Rooney and Lehmann (if he plays!)
2 comments:
You forgot this ;-)
http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Manchester_united
It's brilliantly poised even though I think Arsenal look much more solid. They were superb away against Liverpool and it'll be interesting to see what United's counter attack can produce tomorrow!! Go red devils!!
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