Well so far .. the few previews I’ve done have been lucky and we’ve won every game so here’s hoping that the law of averages doesnt choose to catch up in this crucial crucial game.
There’s 4 battles according to me:
1.Henry-Ade/RVP against Ferdinand/Vidic
Will our strike force score against arguably the best defensive pairing this season when they are on form? If they do so twice we’ll win.
2.Scholes/Carrick against Cesc/Flamini
Michael Carrick has finally scored and will go into this game on a high and Scholes will play a bit deeper today to deny Cesc the space to create. If Flamini can keep Carrick quiet then the creative supply is cut off.
3.Ronaldo/Giggs vs Clichy/Hoyte
They switch wings all the time ,Ronaldo often goes through the centre comes up for corners and is on fire this season. If Clichy does his job decently and doesnt commit forward too often he has the defensive skill to keep Ronaldo quiet. Flamini will probably stick to the diver pretty much throughout. If we dont concede free kicks to Giggs and Ronaldo within 30 yards of our goal thats 50% of the threat snnuffed out.
4.Larsson vs the Arsenal defence
His skill at running into space is pretty much unparalleled. He brings people into the game and his eye for a pass in the box is arguably one of the best. The pace might not be there but the footballing brain is as sharp as ever. Saha will probably start and Larsson will come on later as an impact player if and when ManU are down. The defence will need to be one hundred percent switched on all the time else we will concede.
Lastly there’s always the Rooney factor who can burst into action any time and create something out of nothing. As usual its a mismatch on paper but if we stick to our game plan and control the game in the midfield and pass it around with Cesc,Hleb n Mozart we will probably win. The question though is whether we will be able to play our game without Neville , Scholes and company trying to kick us.
Will Mike Riley be a factor? Probably yes so we have to be careful and not do anything stupid.If Henry n RVP are on form we’ll win but its not going to be a 0-0 .. thats for sure. If we dont score we’ll lose. If we score 2 I believe we will nick this again and keep the pressure up on Chelsea for second place and maybe send a few jitters through ManU as well..okay lets not go there 
Arsenal - 2 Manchester United - 0
29 Responses to “Arsenal - Manchester United”
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January 20th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
I have a very strong feeling we’re going to lose 3-2. I might even put money on it because the odds are good.
January 20th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Might Eboue start? He has the pace to keep up with Ronaldo. We can’t give up an early goal, and need to start the game well and not wait 20 or so minutes to get into our flow.
You forgot the Lehman Vs. Lehman battle. He can’t push or shove anyone when Rooney and Co. try to get him riled up on corners and such.
I see a 2-1 win. I think Flamini will relish the challenge and will work his ass off.
January 20th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
This is truly a match where any result wouldn’t be a surprise.
It will tell alot about where we are right not as a team… a truer barometer than say… Blackburn. United are top of the league, MANY points ahead of us, and with a huge opportunity to open the gap even wider on 2nd place Chelski. I think they have nothing to lose and will play for the win.
I’ll go for the draw.
1-1.
January 21st, 2007 at 1:22 am
I would certainly like Ade to partner Henry upfront with RVP on the bench. We need Ade's workrate and runs to give manu defence pressure and open up room for Henry and Fab/Roskicy/Helb to the attacking (with ade playing a secondary role as poacher in the box). If we start with Ade I'm confident we can nick an early goal and win 1-0 or 2-0. If we start with RVP i'm afraid we don' t have enough physical prescence upfront as the United back four will surely not give our attackes much room which will require fighting a lot of 50-50 balls. Henry is not known to get stuck in so it would be Ade instead of RVP who would provide the service.
I hope Ade starts.
January 21st, 2007 at 5:47 am
A win today would effectively seal our place in Europe next season (but not in the Champions League). With Chelsea and Arsenal in the semis of the Carling Cup, it is likely that seventh place in the Premiership will qualify for the UEFA Cup.
If we win, we will be on 45 points, 12 points ahead of eighth place Spurs, twelve points behind Utd. Given that the consensus here is that we can’t catch Utd., then we can’t be caught by Spurs. Or am I missing something?
January 21st, 2007 at 5:52 am
At least with this team I know we are going to play some very good football, despite the magnitude of the match and difficulty of the oppostion. You couldn’t always say that about previous Wenger teams, who were quite boring to watch when it came to playing the top teams in england and europe.
Van Persie is going to be a waste of space in open play but his prowess from set-pieces might make him worth a start. Adebayor’s lay-off seems to have disrupted his rythm, judging by his cameos of the bench.
I think we might just lose this one as well, and probably will. It will be an open game and with Senderos, Flamini and possibly Hoyte being the last line of defence, an open game is tantamount to suicide against the likes of Ronaldo.
As always though, it will come down to taking chances. If we score early United could collapse like a deck of cards, as their midfield is quite fragile. Our defence would then maybe grow in confidence and not be so exposed.
This is one game when any outcome would not surprise me.
January 21st, 2007 at 10:02 am
We are Arsenal andwe never play to lose or draw. manure beat villa because kiraly was shiite. We have lehmann.. the ikkiest of the ikkie.
I say we will 3-1
henry, adebayor and flams…
January 21st, 2007 at 10:57 am
5 minutes to kick off. Don’t want to make a prediction. Afraid to jink the team. Hope every single Arsenal player step up for this one. And play the game of their lives.
January 21st, 2007 at 11:03 am
If you're betting against our team, I hope you bet a lot.? And I hope you lose it.? UTA!
January 21st, 2007 at 12:57 pm
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
January 21st, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Thhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeee Doooooooooooooooooooooooooouble over ManU… Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllll Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 21st, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Talk about an emotional roller-coaster!! I was about to write in ArsenalAmerica on on poor final ball, Henry was too casual, their first goal will not happen if Gilberto had played, Rosicky left his shooting boots at home, Helb was off colour, Eboue shud focus on the game and many more. But now I am in heaven!! At least until the next game…….
January 21st, 2007 at 1:04 pm
There is JOY in North London tonite!
Happy Happy Joy Joy.
Great finish.
Shame we lost to the have-nots in the league, because we are beating the other BIG 3…
Enjoy it fellow Gooners… wonderful win today.
January 21st, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Following the game on the net. 2-1 Arsenal win with an injury time header from Henry after a Eboue cross. SUPERB!!!!!!!!!!!! We’re back on track for that second spot. The train is leaving the station and all the doubters had better get on board or be left in the terminal. I won’t get to crazy but my hope is that this win can do psychological damage to Man U’s grip on first place.
January 21st, 2007 at 1:17 pm
It is great to see this Arsenal team fighting back from 1 goal down. Last year’s team would have capitulated. A great sign that the team is growing together. While I am estatic with the result, this was not one of our better performances. Rather than dwell on the negative, I am going to sit back and enjoy the rest of Sunday. :-))
January 21st, 2007 at 1:32 pm
So was Eboue making a statement about Lauren’s sale when he delivered that perfect cross to Tel for the win? Don’t know, but what a result from the lads, and if there was ever a time to say “Arsene knows”, now might be it.
Not sharp enough for most of the game, and not catching any breaks, you have to look at the work rate and the attitude and spirit of our captain and the new recruits such as Rosicky (who was off, but didn’t let that stop him impacting the play), and Ade (you just know he bleeds Gunner red). Never gave up, and got all the points against the pretenders.
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant finish. The double over United (last time we did it we won the league) will do wonders for confidence and fight to the final whistle, something this club has needed to work on.
Up the Arse, Kiss the Crest, KEEP THE FAITH.
January 21st, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry…
January 21st, 2007 at 1:53 pm
I reacted to this win as though Holland had just won the World Cup! I let out such a shrill scream of joy on Henry’s header that my family is still making fun of me. It was of course precede by a very happy scream of joy on the V. Persie goal.
I punch the air even now - wow what a game and what a come back from behind.
So much for drawing first blood, the lads fought back kept playing and made the game come back with a little bit of luck.
But it wasn’t just luck!
As Henry might say “Good to be lucky - lucky to be good.”
Kudos’ to the lads and thanks for making my day!
January 21st, 2007 at 2:02 pm
The spirit we showed when going a goal down was almost incredulous. United have not lost a game- when one nil up- for six years or something. As Scotty said, Rosicky and Hleb were not quite on it but they put in the foot soldier routine and effected the game in a more agricultural way.
Adebayor was outstanding but for pure grit and class Fabregas gets MOM from me. It seemed at times that it was one 19 year Catalan against Scholes, Carrick, and giggs. He rose to the task magnificently and must have blue blood, such is his coolness under pressure.
Old Purple nose was cut up about that one. That was the fergie of five years ago, slating us for having the temerity to not roll over for them. If united won that it would have been scandalous.
January 21st, 2007 at 3:02 pm
I told you the other day that one would be a bigger fool than me to bet against a team as talented as Arsenal. You know as well as I do that odds don’t mean squat. I also hope you lost a lot of money if you bet against this team.
January 21st, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Fantastic result. I’m absolutely delighted with that win. Arsenal showed magnificent resolve. To win a game we were probably supposed to lose shows championship character. RvP again showed his value late on as he’s making it a habit scoring late goals. As for TH14, what can you say? It’s just so unfair that we have him and everybody else doesn’t (lol).
Personally, I thought Man United would come in looking for a 0-0 as that would have been a fine result for them. If they could steal a win on a set play then fine but a draw was okay. I said on Monday that if we win this game that we could probably finish unbeaten and make it a race at the top of the table. I haven’t conceded a top two finish yet as Manu still have to play at Anfield and Stamford Bridge as well as Chelsea being a total shambles. I said right before Christmas that Chelsea would continue to drop points and they haven’t let us down. Except for van Persie breaking his foot, we’re getting fit again. It will be fun as we have absolutely no pressure on us. Let’s go get ‘em, Gunners.
January 21st, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Just as well I didn’t bet on it then. Besides, why do you hope I lost a lot of money? Not very nice is it.
January 21st, 2007 at 3:34 pm
I’ve noticed Eboue’s crossing has improved dramatically since last year, even though he’s not as consistent as he needs to be. It’s amazing that the most effective weapon for Arsenal this season has been the old “give and go” or “1-2″ link ups and fools still haven’t figured out they need to stop those. I’m sure over half of our goals have had a 1-2 just moments before the goal.
Fantastic result. Let’s hope this will lead to some consistency. I believe an unbeaten run is on the cards and long overdue. This team is coming of age.
Speaking of Eboue, do you think we should be in for Micah Richards this summer or hold what we’ve got? Eboue does have a few “drama” issues and Richards, at eighteen, is so freaking good. I don’t know what numbers they’re talking about for him but he is one Englishman that is not all hype, but truly worth a lot of money.
January 21st, 2007 at 3:43 pm
No, it’s not very nice but it’s more fun to watch someone else blow money than blow money myself. Besides, you would have deserved it more than the neutral as you, being an Arsenal fan, know exactly what this team is capable of. Fortunately, you weren’t foolish enough to bet.
January 21st, 2007 at 3:44 pm
I think Wenger had a look at Richards, but passed. Not sure why. Recently Richards has said all the right things about staying with Citeh, but we all remember how Rooney blew sunshine up Everton’s ass.
Eboue’s theatrics are hideous, though. Wenger must really believe in him to have sold Lauren, even though Ralphy’s career was dangerously close to half mast.
But there’s a spirit in the team that Wenger is cultivating, and Eboue must be a large part of that. Off pitch life is just as important as on pitch. Obviously Wenger likes what he sees that maybe we don’t see.
Still shaking from the result. So happy I could run for 100 miles.
January 21st, 2007 at 3:49 pm
excellent win….just incredible!
first time we?ve done a double over the mancs in like forever…
and to come from behind - which is certainly not our strong forte - is just wonderful. there is nothing in football better than a last gasp winner. NOTHING!
the race for second place is WIDE OPEN.
i thought henry didnt play well in the game…but when it mattered the most in the last minute he was there.
RvP underlined his value again. only a left footed player would have scored that goal too. he is a scorer of late goals…and every team needs one of those.
eboue was at FAULT for the Man U goal. he was UTTERLY out of position when evra was running down HIS wing. he cant continue letting that to happen. great cross for the winner though.
January 21st, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Don’t think we can fault Eboue for ManUre’s goal. Evra came from very very deep making it difficult for any defenders to pick up. These are the types of situation Gilberto thrives on - he would have spotted the run and close down on Evra. Flamini was supposed to do that but he was too far upfield - he is no Gilberto. Cesc saw the run late and tried to close down Evra but too late. Was a good cross. Clichy was guilty of ball watching and Rooney ghosted in behind him.
January 21st, 2007 at 4:47 pm
It was certainly not Eboue’s fault, he was marking Ronaldo. A midfield runner should have picked up Evra, Fabregas was too late to see the danger and Evra beat him for pace - yes there’s a good chance Gilberto would have picked it up, that’s what he’s great at.
In truth, all three goals were good goals, great play by individuals - not much to do with defensive errors.
January 21st, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Had to work this morning and Tivo’ed the game. I took care to avoid the internet and the one colleague at work, who supports manu to piss me off and because its the only team he’s heard of. When I got home I turned on the TV to watch the match, but it was already on FSC and I accidently caught the score of the game with 10 min to go. I was extremely disappointed that I wouldntt have the thrill of not knowing who would win. I thought well a draw is better than losing to the Mancs. So I sat down to watch our 1-1 draw with Manure only to leap out of my seat screaming when TH14 decide that he would prove the annoucers wrong by heading a goal to beat manu. We did the double against United. WE DID THE DOUBLE AGAINST UNITED!!!!! Sorry I just like saying that. To make it even sweeter, my wife is in England visiting some of her family in Manchester. I myself deny having any family there. I would love to have seen the looks on their faces when their win, turned to a draw, and finally to a loss. We are still unbeaten at the Grove. There were times in the game when we could have played better, but to grind out the win like that was wonderful. I dont think we were capable of that determination last year. What also amazes me is the spirit of the team. I havent seen Henry give any dirty looks to any of our players in ages and they seem to generally enjoy playing together. Lets hope Ashburton Grove continues to develop into a fortress and the team continues to blossom. Cheers. Im going to get back to singing Arsenal songs around the house.