Manchester United 1-0 Arsenal
Beyond all the embarrassing braggadocio set forth by Arsenal’s players, managers, fans, pundits and the eternally biased London media which was the usual usual, there was the seed of doubt we knew was there at Manchester United F.C. The difficulties for a new manager and his coaches taking over from a dynasty of relentless success, two or three players kept at the club past their sell-by dates, a new chief executive and owners who know as much about football as they do about brain surgery, an unfathomable lack of passion, the Wayne Rooney soap opera, the Tiago Alcantara/Cesc Fabregas circus; and, worst of all, the recent unfathomable failure to cope of so many of our young players. Well, yesterday, over 94 minutes at Old Trafford, United’s problems did not get sorted out, per sé, but they were put in sensible perspective. Maybe nothing was ever really as bad as it had seemed. Maybe this instant gratification thing we’re addicted to is the real problem!
Yes. Perspective-wise, I always love playing Arsenal. I always make money. Their fans are so spoiled and bitter, so easy to wind up, so lacking in integrity or any kind of moral fiber: They remind me of their team. Just as I have seen and read about Dubya declaring victory in Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s line in the sand and Hitler’s Thousand Year Reich, Arsenal fans win the Premier League and the European Champions Cup every November. Aren’t they fantastic? And a betting man’s dream sucker bait!
Anyway, save for the very end of the match, during a final twenty minute stretch where a Red D team which had worked its socks off throughout began to look tired, Manchester United dominated the game. Ticky-tacky Arsenal huffed and puffed but they couldn’t blow down Old Trafford and were incapable of building up into their usual quick-tempo tsunami-style. United simply wouldn’t let them play! Then, 27 minutes in, when Rooney executed a rarity for him, a perfectly taken corner, Les Gooners were stunned. Arsene Wenger’s addiction to a policy of zonal marking meant Van Persie could make a long leaping sprint for the ball completely unimpeded. Seeing it all too late, the Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud attempted to block his path, but Van Persie was already high above him, his header zipping past Szczesny into the net.
What followed–which I assume was a reaction to Arsène Wenger’s prematch assertion to the gathered ghouls of Fleet Street that RVP is still, deep down, an Arse man–saw the Dutch striker run to the touchline to embrace Wayne Rooney and his teammates before charging, arms aloft, to greet the faithful of the Stretford End. Not really a United player deep down, hunh, Arsene? You could have fooled me!
The kudos and post-match awards may have deservedly gone to Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie and David Moyes, but for me it was truly the night of the water-carriers. David De Gea finally put the pundit quacks who have accused him of being a pussy in the box in their place. Not only was he up there in the air laying out some muscle and brawn and punching away the ball almost as hard as he kicks, the warrior Spaniard was so totally amped and in the zone that he ruthlessly (albeit unintentionally)laid out his center-back hard man Nemanja Vidic because he was in the way of the ball. Even more impressive, however, were Chris Smalling and Phil Jones. Both have talent to burn, but have also been repeatedly guilty of lacking in concentration. energy and desire the last two seasons. This was not the case against Arsenal. Last week, it seems, some kind of epiphany took place in both of them because, in their case, ‘potential’ is no longer a valid concept. Something wonderful happened to Phil and Chris and a thousand flowers bloomed!
Interestingly, earlier in the day, the players Smalling and Jones have ostensibly replaced in the squad, John O’Shea and Wes Brown(back from almost two years on the sidelines), both had fantastic matches in Sunderland’s shock home win over Manchester City. Meanwhile Chris Smalling played his best game ever for Manchester United. Confident and brave, he committed himself totally to making tackles in the box. It’s a risky business being responsible, but Smalling had his war face on and made a number of crisp, surgically precise tackles that reminded me of a certain Bryan Robson in his pomp. Very vocal, despite owning an even tinier set of vocal cords than David Beckham, Smalling has repeatedly begged off from playing at right back previously. I’m guessing here but having disappointed rather repeatedly this season as a center-back, Smalling may well have been told by the new Gaffer that he was definitely standing in vicinity of the last-chance saloon. Whatever the reason, Smalling was brilliant against Arsenal. Indeed, beyond a number of brave, superbly timed tackles in the penalty box, Smalling made a number of fine quick runs down the right flank, Smalling even came close to firing the coup-de-grace and scoring a second goal when, left unmarked in front of Arsenal’s goalmouth, he narrowly missed making an easy-peasy header at the other end from a Patrice Evra free-kick.
How fantastic that, on exactly the same day, Phil Jones stepped forward and finally became one of United’s most important players. His versatility made him look to be of the same worth as a Touré or a Mascharano. Assigned the mission impossible task of standing mobile watch in front of his back four and smothering the probings of Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and the Premier League’s flavor-of-the-month, Aaron Ramsey, Jones was the one on fire. The rubber-faced, stout-hearted big man not only accomplished his mission, but executed it impressively. Again and again, his intuitive tackling, quick ball recoveries and instinct for covering up for out-of-position team-mates repeatedly choked off Arsenal’s speedy but predictable moves before they could fully develop, making life a lot easier for his defenders. Like Johnny O’Shea, Jones can do any job he is asked to do in games. Unfortunately, until this Sunday he has never been quite up to doing it consistently and in a fully concentrated manner. After being superb in the first half, he was then required to change positions in the second half and fill in for the injured Vidic alongside Jonny Evans. Evans, who is never up to it in games where he has to take charge of the back line, was wise enough to let Jones give orders along with De Gea and came off all the better for it.
Indeed, Les Gooners only managed to get any traction on the game at all after the break due to Jones’ absence in central midfield and the substituted Cleverley’s inability to withstand any kind of sustained physical contact. As well as being great defensively, Jones made a number of powerful runs with the ball in the first half, and the biggest conundrum facing both Moyes and England’s manager Roy Hodgson from now on is just where to place the lad to receive maximum potential. The answer may actually be simple. Against lightning-quick small teams like Chelsea he needs a more stationery role. The question in fact seems to be whether, game by game, is he better assigned particular opponents to mark or in a less specific role.
A last bit of kudos for Rooney. The cliché about Wayne Rooney is that he covers every blade of grass. And as capricious as he’s capable of being, there can be no denial of just how much desire and sense of will he utilized in the little masterpiece he made of this game. Twice before the half, Rooney made decisive tackles on the cusp of his own box before galloping 75 yards into the Arsenal six yard box. Then, a few minutes later, sprinting back 70 yards to chase down a long, dropping ball, punted out of defense by Arteta. His feelings about David Moyes may be ambivalent, but the dour Scot has the Scouser playing at a level of fitness and confidence which is off the charts.
During injury time Old Trafford had a bit of bum-squeak as the pony-tail-bunned Arsenal substitute Nicklas Bendtner–looking like a refugee hit-man from an 80s Steven Seagal movie–tried in vain to connect with an exquisite Bacary Sagna cross. It was as close as they ever got on the night. Asked about it by the press, Wenger said his team was “inhibited by nervousness.” Butterflies in the 92nd minute? Pretty unforgivable, it seems to me, especially if you keep up the talk about winning the championship. To be sure, Arsenal’s five-point lead still needs to be whittled down further. United now sit fifth, after a hop, skip and a jump over Everton, Spurs and Manchester City to bring themselves within a point of Chelsea. United have not lost for six weeks now and the blogs will surely ease off on their personal attacks on Our Dour Davey.
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