A massive win; but Arsenal must keep their feet on the ground
Posted by Young'un in Arsenal, Man United | 8 November 2008
After throwing away a 4-2 lead at home to bottom-of-the-table Spurs, and losing at relegation favourites Stoke City, you could be forgiven for doubting Arsenal's ability to win the league. What a difference a week makes.
The Champions were in town, and boy, the game was an absoloute spectacle. End-to-end, flowing football with dozens and dozens of chances. It's not as if it was all Arsenal. Manchester United could have won the game on another day, but today they were denied by a solid defensively display, and some poor finishing in front of goal. But what makes it all so frustrating is how we can produce such a terrific performance and result (without our main three strikers, remember) against the Premier League and Champions League winners, but can't get a result against teams like Stoke, Hull and Fulham; who you know Chelsea and United would brush aside.
Wenger obviously had words with the players. Everyone gave 110% today. In the interview after the game, you could literally see buckets of sweat dropping off the faces of Fabregas and Gallas. We want that sort of commitment every game. Treat every game like a Cup Final as they say. Because today we proved that we really can, on our day, beat ANY team in the world.
The kids will obviously get a run out against Wigan in midweek but the first team are back in action next Saturday, at home to in-form Aston Villa. At The Emirates, we should beat most if not all teams in the Premier League. But Villa must not be taken lightly. We did that against Hull and look what happened. We need an intense, commited performance because this win should give the team belief. We must take advantage of this and go on a strong run, picking up win after win after win. The potential is there.
We can be lethal going forward and, as in the most part we proved today, we can be solid at the back, too. And finally, I'd like to express my view of this terrific game through some player ratings for both sides:
Arsenal:
Manuel Almunia - Developing into a very good goalkeeper. A rush of blood to the head saw him pick up Silvestre's dodgy backpass and concede an indirect freekick, but other than that he was good before picking up a knock (6)
Bacary Sagna - Kept Park quiet while bombing forward and helping the attack. He has bundles of energy and, in my opinion at least, he is simply the best right back in world football (7.5)
William Gallas - A real captain's contribution. Made some crucial interceptions and was strong in the tackle. Rooney and Berbatov struggled to find space; because the Arsenal skipper was so solid. Great performance (8)
Mikael Silvestre - Despite an early lapse in concentration, Mik obviously was out to prove a point and produced his best performance in an Arsenal shirt so far. Helped Gallas keep the United forwards at bay (7)
Gael Clichy - He never has a bad game, but this was one of his best. Had Ronaldo in his back pocket all match, but, like Sagna, was still able to get forward and swing crosses in. Even had the cheek to flick the ball over Ronaldo while under pressure. Top player (8)
Theo Walcott - For a young lad carrying a knock, it was a decent performance. Evra is a world class fullback, so Theo had his work cut out, but still managed to help the team. His run took drew two defenders with him, opening up space for Nasri to score his second. He's rapidly becoming a key part of this side (6.5)
Cesc Fabregas - Still yet to hit top gear, but Cesc put in a typical performance. Pulled all the strings in midfield and was always willing to get back and help defensively (7)
Abou Diaby - Started off behind the striker. He didn't see an awful lot of the ball in the first 15 minutes or so, but gradually got into the game. His quick feet and long legs gave us another option, before he was used as a holding midfielder in the second half to try and protect the lead (7)
Denilson - He was one of the better players on Wednesday night, and I thought he was terrific today. Spread the ball like butter and always seemed to be there to stop the waves of United attacks. Maybe he is fit for the DM role? (7.5)
Samir Nasri - We all knew he was special after his debut goal. And we were right. Two brilliantly taken goals combined with his superb workrate, trickery and pace produced a magical performance, and the Frenchman looks to be one of the steals of the season (9)
Nicklas Bendtner - I'm still not convinced by the big man. I think he lacks commitment and often makes the wrong decisions but he had a sound game today. Ferdinand struggled to keep up with his variety of play but there was rarely any end product (6.5)
SUBS:
Alex Song - Got suck in and made some crucial tackles (6)
Lukasz Fabianski - Claimed the ball well. Looks like a promising, commanding goalkeeper. No chance with the goal (6.5)
Kolo Toure - Brought on to help protect the lead. Did that but wasn't on long enough to make a big impact (5)
Manchester United:
Edwin Van Der Sar - Didn't look confident. Flapped at set pieces but couldn't do anything about either of the goals (5)
Gary Neville - His deflection took the ball away from VDS for the first goal and couldn't cope with Nasri's pace and trickery. Lacking match practice. Will surely be dropped for the impressive Rafael (4)
Rio Ferdinand - Nothing pretty, he just got rid of any threat that came his way. Looked a bit slower than usual as Bendtner was able to do him for pace more often than not but a decent performance (6)
Nemanja Vidic - Lucky not to concede a penalty but other than that he was very solid. Some hard but fair tackles proved just what a quality defender he is (7)
Patrice Evra - I'm a big fan of Evra and he was very good again today. Looked a threat offensively and dealt with Walcott with little fuss (7)
Cristiano Ronaldo - Diabolical freekicks. He belonged to Clichy for most of the game and struggle to make an impact. Missed a golden chance at the start of the second half (5)
Anderson - A bright spark for United. He worked his socks off. Made some clever passes and kept the dangerous Fabregas on a tight leash. A top talent (7.5)
Michael Carrick - Helped Anderson nullify Fabregas and almost did the perfect job. Over the last 6 months or so he's begun to repay that huge price tag. Solid performance (7.5)
Park Ji-Sung - No chance against Sagna. Produced very little all game, Nani would have been more effective in my opinion (5)
Wayne Rooney - After he blazed a good chance over early on he didn't get in the game whatsoever. The worst I've seen Rooney play for a long time (4)
Dimitar Berbatov - Showed some neat touches and was denied an early goal by the offside flag. Didn't do a lot wrong, he was just unlucky to come up against the impressive Gallas and Silvestre (5.5)
SUBS:
Rafael da Silva - Fergie said this boy was one to watch. Too right. A superb goal capped a great substitute performance. Should be a regular for United. Neville is too old and slow to cope with players like Nasri. Did more in 25 mins than Neville and Ronaldo combined (7.5)
Ryan Giggs - I can't say I remember him doing anything productive (5)
Carlos Tevez - Like Berbatov, he produced a few fancy flicks but couldn't make much of an impact (5.5)
We're always on the look out for new writers. So if you fancy writing about your team, please get in touch.
Comments
I can't understand how Fabregas can get a 7 when the one successful pass I actually remember him making was the one for Nasri's goal, apart from that I would agree mostly.
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