Thursday, 24 May 2012
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Arsenal v Manchester United – Match Preview

By 2012/01/22 34 Comments

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My earliest memory of Manchester United was the 4-5 home defeat on 1st February 1958 which I watched from my usual position on the corner to the right of the North Bank. At the time it was called the best game ever seen in an English League fixture. It was the last game that United played in England before the fateful Munich disaster, only five days later, in which twenty three passengers and crew were either killed or died later from injuries sustained in the crash, among them were eleven United players and staff.

The first half was all United as they went into a three nil lead, the first goal, by Duncan Edwards, being an incredible shot from near the centre circle which the Arsenal ‘keeper, Jack Kelsey, could only push up and into the top of the net.

In the second half Arsenal came back to level the score at three all before United took the lead again before The Gunners equalised for the second time only for United to get the winner.

The teams were:-

Arsenal: J.Kelsey, S.Charlton, D.Evans, G.Ward, J.Fotheringham, D.Bowen, V.Groves, D.Tapscott, D.Herd, J.Bloomfield, G.Nutt.

United: H.Gregg, B.Foulkes, R.Byrne, E.Colman, M.Jones, D.Edwards, K.Morgans, B.Charlton, T.Taylor, D.Viollet, A.Scanlon.

There have been many memorable games against United and some that we would all like to forget, this afternoon’s clash could give us the opportunity to gain revenge for the early season debacle at Old Trafford. However, I have no doubt that United will look to exploit the dearth of fit full-backs in our squad by allowing Nani and Valencia the freedom to run at the make-shift defenders at every opportunity. It could be a long and difficult afternoon for Djourou and whoever plays at left back. It is vital that the centre-back pairing are on top of their game and that there are no lapses of concentration as at Swansea last week.

None of our regular full-backs are going to be available, maybe Vermaelen will be able to fill in on the left but that could be a risk unless he has fully recovered from the calf injury that has kept him on the sidelines recently. At least there seems no doubt about the fitness of our ‘keeper Szczesny so at the moment the defence looks to be:-

Szczesny

Djourou Meretesacker Koscielny Miquel

With Arteta still injured the rest of the starting eleven just about picks itself, the one caveat is if Henry is chosen to start in place of Arshavin, but I doubt that Le Professeur is going to be brave enough to do that.

Song Benayoun

Walcott Ramsey Arshavin

Van Persie.

Sunday’s referee is Mike Dean, it is worth noting that Arsenal have not won a Premiership game with Mr. Dean as referee since November 2008.

Final Thought

Check out the price of the programme at the top of the page.

John in Norfolk

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  • JohninNorfolk

    Arsenal v Man U can never be anything but a “must win game” for either side. This season it is, if possible, even more so for The Gunners. Certain early season events oop nooorth are burned deep into the psyche of both players and fans, but it is the results of yesterday’s games that add the extra spice to this afternoon’s match. Defeats for the Bindippers and Barcodes means we have the chance to extend the gap between us and them, while the Chavs failure to get more than a single point at Norwich means we can edge closer to fourth place.A couple of weeks ago a distant trumpet heralded the approach of if not the US Cavalry, then at least the cavalry from the US in the form of one Thierry Henry, sadly like so many of the gallant horsemen in blue he met his own Little Big Horn and succumbed to injury.Whoever gets picked to play this afternoon must front up to the Mancs, put their bodies on the line and play ‘till they drop!In the words of John Wayne “ A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do”!

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  • Topvar88

    Nice post! Lets hope we play better than last week. It is going to be a good test today,  everyone must be ready to defend, and score on the counter attack.

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  • bigsypissinghispants

    So what have we learnt ? spurs are still incapable of being a force in football and Wenger is just clueless, fancy taking off Oxo and putting AA on, what a stupid thing to do, you would have won that game no doubt about it, instead you lose..how will you defend the bumbling professor now I wonder….probably protecting him wasn’t he ? ha ha cannot wait for the boys to rock up at The Emirates..3 points a certainty..no pace what pace ? Mertsacker oh dear oh dear..bet Bale is shitting housebricks

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    • Brianpat02

      I think for my own health and sanity im now not going to watch Arsenal play live for a while just another average mid table club now in the premier league,no longer feared.Bigsy your being a bit harsh on Spurs Lescott lucky to be on the pitch as for the Balotelli incident

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      • bigsypissinghispants

        still gutless when it matters mate, 2 down before we turn up is poor, proud of the way we took them apart thereafter but still the same old spurs choking when it matters, sadly arsenal fans have been let down by wenger but he won’t be too happy when he sees the faces RVP was pulling when he substituted Oxo..poor poor decision and the fans were right to turn on him for it..

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        • Berg10

          Credit where it’s due bigsy, to go 2 down and turn it on the way spuds did was enviable but Ledlegs tackle…. HaHaHa, that scissor leg lock was straight out of a WWE bout and even then he protested.

          Van Persie may not have realised the Ox was fatigued and as you know that’s a critical time for injury, he obviously didn’t take him off as a result of his performance as much as you’d like to spout that on here to agitate the anti Wenger brigade.

          As the Real Gunner tweeted “Mike Dean is a joke”, I was amazed Rooney didn’t get apenalty…didn’t get booked either unlike RvP for correctly questioning the blatant time wasting, pathetic little man.

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          • bigsy

            I’m not buying any of the Wenger resting him, saving his claf strain nonsense, Oxo was interviewed on MOTD 2 last night, now as a young kid in the game surely he would want to keep on the right side of wenger, but he made no reference to being ill in the week , neither did he say the manager was right to take him off because his calf hurt him, surely he would have considering all the fuss about it, but he didn’t ..wenger has lied to the fans one time too many berg10

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          • Berg10

            Look, contrary to what some will read into my posts is that nobody will be more gutted than me if I discover Oxo was replaced because of a tactical decision, the guy is exciting to watch and was one of the few showing penetration. I’ll reserve judgement for now.

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    • Jenny

      You are a horrible little man, go away and leave us alone.
      I hate it when even our own fans to turn against our beloved Arsene 

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  • bigsytakesitupthechuff

    Bigsy your such a fkn troll on this blog go write your shit on le grove and get crucified there please.k thanks

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    • bigsypissinghispants

      don’t care what you think, you need to learn how to accept losing mate and stop being so childish..free world and a lot worse than my true comments have been posted on here, i am here to talk football nothing else..if you can’t handle that then it is your problem….as for taking it up the chuff ? yes very mature..you muppet !

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      • muppet:)

        :) I agree with alot of things you write but after the man u game i didnt want to see it.

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  • Jenny

    In Arsene we trust
    In Arsene we trust
    In Arsene we trust.

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    • Brianpat02

      Yeah and in the Board we dont trust

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    • bigsypissinghispants

      you are a loyal fan Arsene..oops sorry I mean Jenny ! and in the minority my darling..”you don’t know what you’re doing, you don’t know what you’re doing”  that is what I heard isn’t it ?

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      • Jenny

        In Arsene weeeeeeeee trust!
        Mr horribe little spurs fan.
         I hate you, i hate you, i hate you.

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        • bigsy

          im actually a very big spurs fan, huge bloke in fact..ha ha

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  • Crazy Horse

    I went to the game – even though I was convinced we would lose – I still went. And why did I go? Because I love the Arsenal. But enough is enough. I can’t put myself through the crap I witnessed today anymore. Chamberlin was excellent, our only real threat and still Wenger pulls him off and sticks that useless pile of Russian crap on in his place!!! Why? Vermalen is a brilliant CB but he is no left back. Keschelny is good but Mertasacker is so off the pace of a game that my 99 year old granny would stand a good chance against him in a 100 meter race! And please don’t get me started on Djurou. Out of position he may be but does anyone think he’s any good when he is playing in ‘his’ rightful role? Oh, sorry, Wenger obviously rates him – say no more.
    The team looks void of tactical awareness, ambition and drive. Same goes for Wenger I’m afraid.

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    • Jenny

      Please please please! keep faith with Arsene and least we forget we are still in the champions league. 

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      • bigsy

        Not for long on that performance,

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    • Berg10

      Chamberlain WAS excellent but probably his youthful exuberence was telling after the hour and that was the reason he was pulled off, Benayoun would have been a better option from the available subs.
      Vermaelen is LB because there is nobody better available and Mertesacker had a better game and isn;t there for pace but is improving.
      Why they took so long to wind themselves up is a mystery, even to the manager but credit to him for making a necessary half time substitution (out of character).

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      • bigsy

        Berg10 …Mertsacker is not there for pace ? what is he there for ? I am guessing you will reply to be a presence in the air (yes it was needed) ..so are you implying that you are either slow and good in the air, or rubbish in the air and good on the floor and quick, Sol Campbell was both, Ledley King is both, Kaboul is both, Vermaelen is both, so why did he not sign Samba, ? Dann ? Johnson ? he signed a player in Mertsacker without an ounce of consideration for the pace of the prem, that is shocking management, you cannot pretend wellbeck didn’t do that to him yesterday, you are not daft mate, you cannot expect me to believe that he bought a slow player on purpose to compliment TV, that is just ridiculous..plenty warned of Mertsackers inability to run way back when he was signed including myself..and it is showing everywhere now..you really must get the crystal ball i use it is very good indeed.

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        • Berg10

          Last season we were suffering aerially so a strong tall defender was required, as much as the others you mention may have fitted the bill were they all available at the right time and price? Mertesacker was also endorsed by Keown.

          Is that the same Ledley King the WWE from yesterday HaHa.

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          • bigsy

            Ledley had to make to that tackle he had no choice, it was a penalty and I have no complaints about it, he is past it in my opinion but very much a one club man and simply the best defender in the country to do what he does without training is a tragic loss of his services, I would have loved to have seen ledley go on to reach the level he deserved to play at, as we sing only got one knee and better than john terry..brilliant brilliant effort to do what he does is almost super human..Henry needed to train to get fit ..Ledley can’t train and Henry still has him as the best defender he has played against, if price was an issue in signing a decent centre back then that is an entirely different angle on AFC all together but Mertsacker is poor !

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  • JohninNorfolk

    Every so often a manager makes what appears to be an inexplicable mistake, today Arsene Wenger did so by taking off Oxlade-Chamberlain, probably our best player, to replace him with Arshavin who is undeniably our worst player.  In every game he has played in this season he would win the “Dog of the Match” award hands down.  I don’t want to see this Russian misfit pull on the Arsenal colours ever again.

    To be fair to Wenger, when asked why he had taken Oxlade-Chamberlain off he said that he had seen him stretching his calf muscle and thought he was in danger of injury.

    I find it really sad when so called supporters slag off their own team and manager and rarely have anything good to say about them.  Particularly when they do it on other clubs websites.  Do you feel the same way Bigsy?

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    • Bad Company

       You truly are delusional mate, those fans are passionate and are tired of getting shafted year after year

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      • bigsy

        OF COURSE THEY ARE !

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    • bigsy

      JIN ..sorry but you are talking nonsense, criticising my team is allowed, I support the football club, I support the walls of the stadium, the badge, the pitch, the entire foundations of THFC, I do not support a manager, unlike you I have the common sense to realise people in life come and go on a personal and sporting level, some make it enjoyable some make it painful, but they all come and go, I suggest you are not an Arsenal fan at all, if you was you would be totally and utterly dejected and down beat about the club and it’s current plight, you seem only to care for wenger, so am i wrong to come on here and anywhere else for that matter when my institution goes wrong and moan, no I am not, because whilst he was at Bournemouth , west ham and pompey I was funding spurs, I was keeping it going, you may be happy to hand the entire family jewels over to a frenchamn who has lost the plot but plenty are not..it is about Arsenal and not Wenger JIN….as for the Oxo substitution well I didn’t hear the kid say it was a calf strain when questioned ? and he would have been very kean at that age to protect his gaffer wouldn’t he…wake up mate even RVP has had enough !  AFC NOT AW ..

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  • Berg10

    Can’t fault Wenger for being cautious with Ox especially with our packed treatment room, the mistake was putting on AA, I would have preferred Benayoun personally.

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    • Bad Company

       Can’t fault Wenger, are you serious? The kid was having the game of his life and could have gone another 90 minutes.

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      • bigsy

        Berg10 will never criticise Wenger it just won’t happen

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        • Berg10

          When the time is right I will. Like you (above said) I support the club not one particular person. I too have been feeding the club since 1970, long before Wenger came on the scene and after he leaves too. I may not sing from the same hymn sheet as the majority on here but couldn’t give a flying fcuk.

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  • Woppadon

    Good to see Chamberlin starting today. Brilliant display. He wants to play and play to win. Great to see this when others around him look as if the want to fix a bet or couldnt give a shit. At the end of the day Wenger should care if Arshavin didnt do enough for Welbecks goal. To say so is stupid. The two wings are a problem for us. We need supply into the best striker in Europe. Brilliant goal today. Even the best miss sitters. I have lost all faith in Wenger lately as he is costing us stability as we know it (Champions league) due to his and the boards stubborn attitude and stingy wallet filling silence in the transfer market. Why cant Arsenal buy in this window? We would have won the premiership last year if ye bought a good central defender. We should be in for Samba and reinforments on the wing. Walcott is not a good footballer. He has his speed. We need someone who can actually look up and see whats going on around him before he kicks and a decent first touch too. Why not spend some money now Wenger and Board to keep what all fans want and to remain in the Champions League. Break the bank now and maintain revenue. Dont spend and watch our standards wane away. We are Arsenal. The job you have done at Arsenal will make you Great, Arsene. Please prolong it and act now. Wilshire, Sagna, Arteta still to come back will be a major plus too. Maybe we will see a flutter of transfers now, after getting beat by Manure, like the last time.

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  • http://profile.yahoo.com/35HFI7RS2AGIGM2WMENLJSI3LY Randy

    This is a loss that must sit squarely on Wenger’s doorstep. In fact the case can be made that Wenger affirmatively sabotaged his side. http://goo.gl/WaMjp. How else can anyone explain bringing on Arshavin for Ox. The kid had just created one goal, almost created a go-ahead goal and was the only shining bright spot for the Gunners on the field. And Wenger took him off to bring on Arshavin?? Really???  Arshavin has been useless since last season. What could Wenger have possibly seen that the rest of the football world could not see. Now because of that, we might not make Champions League, we could lose RVP (you saw his reaction), heck we could even lose Theo. It is time for Wenger to go….

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