Manchester United, Arsenal not so much
Posted by Young'un in Alex Ferguson, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Arshavin, Man United, Premiership, Theo Walcott, Wayne Rooney | 29 August 2011
I was privileged, or perhaps unfortunate, enough to be at Old Trafford yesterday for a quite sensational afternoon of football. This was my first away game since Coventry City in 2001, back when I was a lad and, you know, Arsenal were genuine title challengers. Having not been to Manchester I was pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the city, and the locals I spoke to were very friendly, even if I was sporting my Gunners shirt. In particular, the United fans with whom I shared a sophisticated footballing conversation over dinner. A horrifically inexperienced line-up including Francis Coquelin sitting in front of the back four, hardly inspired confidence among the strong visiting support brought along.
As you’re fully aware, the travelling fans’ performance put that of the players, and perhaps the club’s limited transfer activity to shame. Chants of “we’ll race you back to London” were greeted with chuckles and the 20 minute relentless chorus of “we love you Arsenal, we do” showed the unconditional affection some of us have for the club. Whether the same can be said for the likes of Tomas Rosicky and Armand Traore is debatable to say the least; at times they looked like they’d rather endure interrogation by Jack Bauer than wear the, err, not so famous…navy and turquoise jersey.
The tone was set from the off as the energetic Danny Welbeck closed down a far too casual Wojciech Szczesny in a slice of action that could easily have ended in Jens Lehmann-esque disaster as it could for what was the ultimate consequence, a mere goalkick. It personified the game in some respects: United determined, committed, Arsenal lacklustre and lazy.
The Gunners’ defensive frailties were all for see as the hosts notched a well-deserved opener. Anderson’s clipped ball wasn’t dealt with by Djourou, Koscielny or Szczesny as the in-form Welbeck ghosted in to nod past the exposed Pole. Moments before Walcott and Jenkinson had argued with eachother after the latter was left haplessly out of position. The exchange of words at least showed they cared but demonstrated the lack of basic discipline in Arsene Wenger’s makeshift side. Gifting high quality opposition early goals is suicidal, particularly against a side like Manchester United who simply didn’t look back from that moment.
Against the run of play, a collector’s item in a penalty given at Old Trafford against the home side, gave the slack Arsenal outfit hope after Walcott was tugged back by Evans and Howard Webb, who it must be said had a sound game, pointed to the spot. A little soft perhaps but home sides get those every week. Anderson did his best to intimidate van Persie, and the usually assured Arsenal skipper looked somewhat hesitant as he put his powderpuff spot kick far too close to De Gea who made a simple save. The much maligned keeper was given a hero’s congratulation by his United teammates. For the romantics, it suggested redemption and a turning point for the shaky Spaniard. Truth be told, however, he continued to spill balls on the odd occasion Arsenal did test him from distance.
As far as I’m concerned it was neither a turning point for De Gea, nor for the match itself. The home side were already dominating and even had van Persie tucked the penalty away, I’d wager Arsenal still would have lost heavily against vastly superior opposition. United didn’t need an invitation to take advantage of Arsenal’s profligacy and went straight up the other end and doubled their advantage through Ashley Young’s terrific curling effort. You could sense it was already game over and a matter of how many the hosts would end up with.
Welbeck pulled up shortly after and was replaced by Javier Hernandez; an indication of the strength United have in their ranks. Frankly it made a mockery of the Arsenal bench that included the likes of Oguzhan Ozyakup and Gilles Sunu. Wenger had nobody to turn to in order to turn things around; faith had to be shown in Arsenal’s already decimated starting XI.
The Champions grabbed a third through Wayne Rooney’s training-ground-perfected free kick after Jenkinson had naively bundled over Young. It’s hard to put too much blame on the teenager who was playing non league football no more than 18 months ago. The fact we have been made to play embarrassingly immature players such as Jenkinson and Coquelin is no fault of their own but is a problem that needs rectifying if we are to avoid further humiliation. We can’t keep hiding behind the excuse of injuries, a demon who admittedly did wipe out the majority of Arsenal’s backline.
Theo Walcott did pull one back before the break after being slipped in by Arshavin. Had the roles been reversed and it was United reducing the deficit held by Arsenal, a dramatic comeback may have been in the offing. Alas, this was not the case and there was simply not a cat in hell’s chance of The Gunners turning their poor first half around during the second period.
Arshavin dragged a shot wide at the beginning of the half which could have made some significant distance had it gone in while Szczesny denied Young and Cleverley at the other end which showed just how rampant the hosts were, that it could easily, easily have been double-figures. That the keeper was our ‘best’ player spoke volumes of just how woeful a display this was. Any deluded hopes of a revival were dashed as Rooney tucked away United’s fourth with another sensational freekick. Planting the ball inside the post at such pace and with unerring accuracy is quite a skill to execute; Rooney’s brilliance highlighted by the fact Szczesny did not even attempt to stop it.
If possible, the Champions seemed to get stronger as they smelt blood and ruthlessly battered Arsenal from corner to corner. The movement of Rooney, Hernandez and Nani was too much for the inexperience of Jenkinson and the inability of Traore. A painful fifth was added as Rooney fed Nani in acres of space, and the winger audaciously dinked the ball over Szczesny. It was a goal scored with such ease that you could be forgiven for thinking this was a game of FIFA on the Playstation.
The Gunners continued to receive heavy blows. The image of a disorientated boxer does not tell half the story of how out-of-sorts this Arsenal side were. Rooney tried a deft chip from outside the box that hit the woodwork. His claim for the matchball would have to wait. Not long of course. Gaping holes appeared all over the pitch and Young teed up substitute, Park who scored his customary goal against Arsenal with aplomb. Comparisons were being made with the previous 6-1 defeat at Old Trafford that included the likes of Luzhny and Stepanovs in the Gunners’ defence. As the ultimate scoreline proved, it would be even worse than the debacle at the turn of the century.
Robin van Persie’s strike at the Stretford End drew some ironic cheers from the travelling supporters but the players also knew it was of no significance whatsoever. Who says footballers are stupid?
Unsurprisingly, United weren’t satisfied with a four goal cushion and Arsenal weren’t comfortable conceding six; you can’t make ate/hate puns when only conceding six now can you? Jenkinson received a second yellow for another clumsy foul meaning a quite remarkable record of three red cards in three games was set. Further goals were of course imminent, and Walcott’s silly shove on Evra in the box meant the hosts had a penalty of their own. Rooney showed the Arsenal captain how to put the ball away as he completed a quite inevitable hattrick.
The Champions’ eighth goal came through the impressive Young who scored a carbon copy of his first-half strike, bending the ball past Szczesny from the edge of the box. An emphatic result that confirmed United’s credibility as Champions and Arsenal’s humiliatingly obvious defensive frailties. The squad currently has as much depth as a children’s paddling pool and that has to change in the next couple of days.
The club have left it far too late to replace Fabregas and Nasri. Not only because there is little more than 48 hours remaining in the window, but who is going to want to join after this mauling? Traore’s horror show will probably mean he’ll never play for the club again. Cracks are appearing all over the pitch and it’s difficult not to fear for both the immediate, and long term future of Arsenal Football Club.
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