It was just a couple of years ago that Arsenal vs Manchester United matches were the most important fixtures in the English Premiership. How time has changed. How money has changed the game. Ever since Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea and pretty much bought the Premiership title, Arsenal vs Man U seems more like the eliminator than the title decider. Although the clash of the titans no more, this fixture (so early in the season) should still provide some form of indication of the potential of the two teams.
Last season was a transitional period for the Gunners in many ways. It was their last season at Highbury, their stadium of ninety three years (6 September 1913 to 7 May 2006). Burdened with the cost of financing the new 60,000 seats Emirate Stadium (Ashburton Grove), manager Arsene Wenger’s hands were tied in terms of transfer activities. Alexander Hleb of Belarus was the only notable purchase. He is a good dribbler and a playmaker but not exactly the type of player to fill the void left by Patrick Viera, who finally left the club after years of will he/won’t he. Viera was sold to Juventus for twelve million pounds. Although it proved almost impossible to find a like for like replacement for Viera, I thought it was another good bit of business done by Wenger to get this kind of money for the 29 year old. As he approached 30, Viera’s power of dominating a match was obviously waning for a player whose game depends so much on his physical prowess.
It was as if the departure of the captain was not enough, a host of players were injured for most of the season. On top of that, there was the Ashley Cole “tapping up” (by who else but Chelsea), and the melt down of Sol Campbell (who went AWOL during the half time of the West Ham match). Arsene Wenger had no choice but to rely on the youngsters. It was kind of expected that the kids would not do well in the Premiership because of the physical nature of the league. Teams like Blackburn would just bully them out of the park. But these kids have a lot of potential, especially Cesc Fabregas, who was such a revelation. It is so rare to have someone so young to control the midfield like this kid did. At only 18, he played with such vision and assurance that it almost seemed like a blessing that Viera left so that Wenger had to put his trust on the kid. At the back, Kolo Toure was the only senior defender available for most of the season. So youngsters like Phillippe Senderos, Mathieu Flamini, Emannuel Eboue, Abou Diaby were thrusted into action. Against the physical approach of their Premiership rivals, they might seem a bit lightweight, but in Europe, where the style was more technique based, they flourished. It was such an achievement that this makeshift defence broke the Champions League record of most consecutive clean sheets set by AC Milan.
Even though their domestic form was poor (at least by the very high standard set in recent years), their form in Europe was encouraging enough to suggest a better season this time. However, three matches into the 06/07 season, Arsenal still have not won a match and only have two points to show for so far. It is embarrassing enough to be in the relegation zone of the league table, it is enough more humiliating to see Manchester United at the top of the table with a perfect record of four wins from four matches (12 points).
More worryingly for us Gooners is that Thierry Henry will most likely miss the match on Sunday as he had sustained an injury during practice with the France national team (which is why club managers hate their players going on international duties). In addition, Robin van Persie is going to miss the match too. In other words, Wenger may start with teenager Theo Walcott or new signing Julio Baptista or both. Another new boy, Tomas Rosicky had a good game against Hamburg in the Champions League earlier this week by scoring a wonder goal reminiscent of the one he scored against the US in the World Cup, also in Germany. I am excited about his signing and I think he would be an important player for Arsenal once he has adapted to the pace of the English game. However, I suspect that Wenger is going to start with Freddie Ljungberg instead of Rosicky on Sunday, simply because Ljungberg has more experience in the Premiership, especially against a team like Man U. With Ashley Cole and Robert Pires gone, and Gael Clichy still injured, Arsenal’s left side does not have the offensive capability it used to have, and Sir Alex Freguson, the Manchester Untied manager, will try to force Arsenal to play through the middle. It would be a problem unless Arsenal’s finishing gets more clinical than was shown in recent matches or it will be the same old overcomplicated play and no pay off scenario.
It is not all gloom and doom for Arsenal though. It is true that Man U are the form team right now, but as we can see from the Champions League match against Celtic the other night, Man U’s backline has its problems. It is a tall order at this point for Arsenal to win at Old Trafford but I think it is matches like this that defines a season. It is not all about the points, although that is obviously important, it is how Arsenal performs that will have impact on the rest of the season.
Prediction: Manchester United 1 – Arsenal 1
