Manchester United 1 - Arsenal 0
This season has produced several results which left many Arsenal fans questioning the players desire. All sorts of skill but focus and effort lacking. Tonight, the Gunners expended huge amounts of energy but were let down by errant passing and poor touch.
Neither team played particularly well, and though the statistics and many Man U fans may suggest otherwise, the final score was in fact the result of a fortunate deflection. To be fair, Park's header required quick and instinctive reflexes, and it floated up and over the outstretched hand of Sczezny clearing his gloved hand by inches. Nani was going for goal, but as so often this evening, Clichy was there anticipating correctly and getting his foot to the ball. Unfortunately that deflection sent the ball in front of goal and Park reacted quick enough to deflect it again, this time into the upper left corner.
Other notes:
Webb wasn't at his worst, but there were several inconsistencies and the call by the linesman to award Man U the penalty kick clearly a response to the pressure being applied by the home fans.
Wilshere was excellent. He handles the big stage like a seasoned pro.
Cesc and RVP are still rusty.
Sczezny absolutely has what it takes.
Clichy contained Nani, taking the ball away from him in several one-on-one situations. He had the toughest assignment defensively and performed well.
Clichy, like many others, were often let down by their indecision when they had a moment on the ball. "One-touch" became two or three and advantage lost.
Song seemed "out-of-sync". He had one of those games where every attempt to anticipate left him out of position and chasing.
We appeared much too reliant on Nasri to create some magic.
Ferdinand deserved a yellow for his waist-high-leading-leg-shirt-cutting-superman impersonation.
The general feeling seems to be that despite the final score, there must be some satisfaction in the performance defensively. In addition, we have completed our away fixtures against Chelsea, Man U, Man City and Liverpool, and home wins against all of them a very real possibility.
Tough result, but not the end of the season.
Victoria Cocordia Crescit
Tonight Arsenal have an opportunity to "undo" some wrongs committed earlier in the season. Well, not "undo" so much as "offset" points lost in games played previously. As always, games against your nearest rivals begin to be seen as 6-point rather than 3-point affairs and a win at Old Trafford would have such an effect. The Chelsea-Spurs draw yesterday adds to the mix exponentially as points gained would also provide some cushion in the build-up to our return match with Chelsea at the Emirates.
That draw also takes some pressure off of the squad tonight, a win not vital in the grand scheme if we assume victories against both Man U and Chelsea are obtainable at home. Whether such a reduction in pressure allows Arsenal to play "looser" and more positive or less focused and lackadaisical will be revealed at the opening whistle. Let's hope for the former.
It can be argued that older, more experienced players have a better capacity for handling the pressure, yet often we have seen young players in sport, apparently energetically oblivious to concern, perform equally well. My contention is that the real drawback to youth, in particular on a team which has been so close to title glory, is that the players don't grasp the opportunity at hand. Seemingly spoiled by success they assume that these opportunities will be forthcoming for years to come. The list of players who have never held a trophy is long and certainly each of those on the list would admonish these young Gunners for not seizing the moment.
Apparently Fabianski is a doubt on the bench this evening, but his young compatriot seems to be the type of confident and hungry athlete more than happy to step in and prove his worth.
Cesc also looks doubtful and in many ways I am hopeful that he is not on the pitch so that he may heal fully.
Much has been made of Nani but my concern is the middle and our inability to coordinate our offside trap effectively. Rooney may not be in scoring form but he can push the pass well. Evra will hope to contain Nasri and it will be vital that Sagna pushes forward to apply offensive pressure.
The opportunity has arrived, let's make the most of it.
Victoria Concordia Crescit
