PL: Manchester United vs Arsenal | 17/09/06

[AFCFan4Ever]

Having slept on it, here's my review:

It was a great game, and i'm proud we continue to be able to play 4-5-1 in an attacking and fluent manner like last seasons CL run.. 4-5-1 suits our players, and i'd like to use it against the bigger teams.

I thought Adebayor was terrific up front, I still don't trust him when he has time to think, because he turns into Emile Heskey MK2.. but when he plays with instinct, he is a very dangerous player.. He did his job very well yesterday, held the ball up, knocked balls down, stretched Rio and Brown, and took his goal very well, I sometimes forget he's still 22.

Rosicky has slotted in beautifully, his link up play and passing is top stuff, he also has a great shot on him and nearly scored another stunner.

The build up to the penalty was the best move we've put together all season.. I'm glad it all clicked in the biggest game so far.

I thought Gilberto was absolutely immense in his job.. He is exactly the sort of player United need.. His distribution wasn't as bad as people made out last night, there were a few times towards the end of the game, especially one thta put us in trouble, but overall he was brilliant, ran his socks off, got stuck in with some fierce tackles, picked himself up after the penalty miss, broke up countless attacks, covered for Eboue's runs.. It was a wonderful performance, a real display of leadership.

Kolo is getting better and better, he's even BIGGER now! He left his body on the pitch after that game, left it all on the line, kept Rooney quiet, brilliant interceptions, threw himself at every ball, held the line well, always talking and encouraging Djourou, even though he was injured he still left it all out there.. World class player.

Djourou is getting better and better with every performance, I love seeing a youngsters mature in front of my very own eyes, and that's what's going on with Djourou, I remember his first senior games with Arsenal in the Carling Cup, where he looked very dodgy and all the signs of a liability, then his league debut against 'Boro, where he looked shakey. Now he's keeping Saha and Rooney quiet. I remember when Liam brady said that once he learns to be a dirtier defender and command the air, he'll be well on his way.. It seems that slowly Djourou is doing that, especially being commanding in the air, he won everything last night, apart from 1 Saha header that just went past the post, considering he's still only 19, it really is a joy to watch his performances, being a 19 year old in teh heart of defence is probably the hardest thing to do.

Jens, nothing more you can say about him, the way he gritted his teeth after grabbing O'Shea was hilarious, like he was about to tear him up, his save from Ole was the save of the season and will probably be at the end of the season, considering the venue, the game and especially the time on the clock, 89th min.. I've never heard of a keeper who has realised his full potential at the age he is, he's always been a good keeper who was prone to mistakes, now he's just world class.

I thought Hleb did his job very well, like he usually does in a 4-5-1, his link up play with Eboue was brilliant once again, and he stayed wide most of the time and gave us width, he did roan around sometimes, but did it effectively, I thought he had a much better game than the subdued Freddie, he also created a few good chances, especially for Rosicky just outside the area, and Cesc too, which was unfortunately blocked by Ade.

My Man Utd supporting mate was spunking over Cesc' performances after the game, and a lot of Gooners thought he merely had just a good game, which shows the standards he sets and how frightenly good he really is, what a ball for Ade, perfectly weighted, the way Cesc, Rosi and Hleb passed around O'Shea and Scholes on their own patch was a joy to watch.. I've never seen United dominated so much in years.. Especially at Sold Trafford.

All in all, i'm f****g delighted, this sort of performances was always in us, we haven't played badly at all, we just haven't been putting our chances away, and it looked like it would be the same story, now next week is the real test, we need to score early and beat Sheff Utd, we need to keep the momentum up, otherwise this result won't mean nowhere near as much, I don't want to be like the recent United teams and just beat the big teams and struggle against mediocre.

Arséne has got a lot of stick this season, but he tactically destroyed Ferguson last night, well done Le Boss!

Yes, i'm in a f****g good mood today

8)
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QFT...agreed 100%.

I was going to type out something similar but you read my mind so I'll just go with you lol.

Terrific, inspired performance from the lads...I couldn't be happier with what I saw. Every single player poured their heart and soul into the game and they all gave tremendous performances, this is exactly the type of win that makes us a TEAM.

This was exactly the type of result we needed to kick start our campaign and get back into the title hunt...huge win and that goes without saying. I don't think you can underestimate just how big this was for us.

 

[Rohit]

I believed we would win i predicted a bold 2-0 when i started this thread,but i never in my dreams would have imagined us dominating the way we did.No Wenger team in my opinion has dominated United at Old Trafford like the team yesterday.Stats may show it was close with respect to possession and shots on goal but we played the better football by far.

Our passing game was impressive as always,what was more impressive was how good we were off the ball.We were fantastic.We closed them down really quickly and gave them no time to pick their passes.The only time we looked a bit shaky was at the beginning of the game and at the end where we probably became too cautious and dropped tooooooo deep to defend resulting in the chance and the Sooooper Dooooper save from Lehmann.

It takes a lot of effort from all the players to do the closing down job we did for 90 minutes and we should be proud of this team.Rosicky is so good on the ball and off the ball,attacking or defending,he tackles,he rides tackles and is ready for a fight.
Hleb did a decent job,a great ball for the penalty,set up Rosicky and Fabregas and tracked back and helped Eboue brilliantly,that one play where he came running to defend and passed to Lehmann comes to mind.

Talking of Lehmann,he is an Arsenal legend.What a save.I don't know what O Shea did to him and i am sure O Shea had no clue,he was shocked when Lehmann had a go at him,it was hilarious the look on O Shea's face.

As for Henry,none of us know what his intentions were,so lets not jump to conclusions.In words he asked for a fight,for the players to stand up and be counted,each and every one of them,i don't know how it was interpreted but a fight was what he got.A great day,it'll just motivate the players more and to the doubters here,if there was ever a doubt about quality in this team it should be put to rest.

 

[bojed]

you all think cesc's pass to adebayor was the sh*t?

take a good look at hleb's f*cking superb through ball to adebayor that won us a PK...

seriously f*cking quality!

but cesc's pass edges slightly over hleb's because it's the last pass before ade scored...

all hail to the mighty gunners!

 

[vin de guerre]

I have to say I like the look of the BEAST. His run from our half was awesome and showed we have another option for direct brute force!

 

[Reyes no.11]

henry asked the players to do something. what has henry done all season? he just wines everyday. hes not a captain. gilberto is a captain. im so glad henry wasn't out there. cause if he was, he would have made gilberto and the team feel like s**t when gilberto missed the penalty.

i really wish we sold henry to barcelona for 50 mill now.

 

[cesc18]

was a brilliant football match yesterday

i was nt sure what to expect i thought we d put a good fight and if lucky we would sneak a goal

but as the match started especially after the first 5 mins i was thinking we were passing well alright like always
but the pace and movement off the ball was tremendous and a 4-5-1 seemed more like an ultra attacking formation
we were fairly well organised in defence with gallas toure and djorou having good games
eboue was good but does get caught out of position
but with gilberto and even hleb rosicky helping out we looked solid
adebayor worked hard alone upfront and showed plenty as to why wenger has faith in him and also showed a few times why he s been criticised by the fans
a slick move by cec getting the ball from ronaldo and going on a run before threading a brilliant pass to ade who finished it deftly

also 20 mins +of baptista who looked good and does have pace to go with his game

and then lehmann he nearly killed himself with that save off ronaldo but the save from solskjaer was top drawer
commanding performance (including holding o shea by the shirt :wink: )

great win
just hope we dont draw against sheffield now

 

[Tony Montana]

I'm guessing no one there had any run ins with the **** then? Seen a few go after one Gooner, but fair play to the steward who stepped in. Police werent doing alot but watching and waiting for it to kick off.

Was f**k all really. The perk of being in the front row at OT is you get to piss off so many c**nts.

Just seen the goal again. Cesc dumps Ronaldo to the ground, plays a one two off him, then slides Ade in beautifully. Was a blur before now haha.

And f**k me, WHAT A SAVE by Jens from Solskjaer.

It saw a few of the mongs waiting outside. Right ugly c**nts they were, typical northern, knuckle dragging monkeys. Looking to pick on a few shirts, bullying a per usual. A few Arsenal made themselves known and they soon melted towards the old bill. Wankers.

But what an atmosphere in our end, outstanding. Non stop singing - I have no voice this morning. Their fans were s**t, much worse than ours for big home games.

From 1-11 I thought we were excellent, great performance.

Great to see it meant as much to the players as it did to the supporters aswell, particualry Gallas. He made all the players come over in Hamburg and did the same yesterday.
Bet he is loving playing for a proper football club with proper support and where results like this are based on hard work and not stolen money.

I have to say i'm quite jealous but if the box office had sent my travel membership on time (and it's still not here) then I would have gone. But my theory stands, away fans are so much better than home ones.

 

[lagos]

We all hate manu but credit where credit is due, it is refreshing to see that despite their loss they ware classy enough to give a brutally honest match report on their website - Chelsea take note!

"Arsenal hit back when Ronaldo’s weak lay-off to Wes Brown allowed the impressive Adebayor to break through"

"For all that Arsenal were expected to miss Henry and van Persie, it was the Gunners who looked the more threatening in front of goal. It took until the 24th minute for United to create a real opening. Ronaldo put Rooney through on the left and the 20-year-old striker fired wide with his left foot."

"the Reds continued a worrying trend of errors"


"Arsenal were without injured duo Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie, a significant dent to their attacking potency. But Freddie Ljungberg and Emmanuel Adebayor, their replacements, would cause United problems all afternoon as they sought to end their winless start to the season."


full report

http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=363962&page=1

 

[oneteaminlondon]

Great win, I was in the Holloway and the atmos was great, despite there being some weird Gaelic football match being shown on some of the screens during the first half!

We should play 4-5-1 away from home. For the last 5 minutes yesterday we were in fact playing 4-6-0, with Flams on for Ade!

Seemed to work though. And perhaps, with the Rosicky-Gilberto-Fabregas-Ljungberg-Hleb-Adebayor front 6 working so well together, it will be possible to actually rest Henry (peace be upon his name) when he's injured?

 

[bojed]

henry asked the players to do something. what has henry done all season? he just wines everyday. hes not a captain. gilberto is a captain. im so glad henry wasn't out there. cause if he was, he would have made gilberto and the team feel like s**t when gilberto missed the penalty.

i really wish we sold henry to barcelona for 50 mill now.

and by the end of the day we'll lose a 25+ goals striker and whine about it all season long just for a measly 50mil in relative to a priceless world class player...

as sh*t as henry is ATM, can you deny his contribution as our captain last season?

thought so...

he's clearly off form right now, we all know that but i believe it will be only a matter of time before he's flying all over the pitch and shooting goals every now and then...

 

[Nyingmeh]

^ nice pics mate,,,,,,but its just my opinion that we should start senderos at center once he gets back and make gallas permanent at LB

AM I DREAMING ? Gallas is a CB and so shall it be... Although I fancy the gladiator could become the best left back of the season...

 

[Legend#1]

A few poor displays, and we should sell Henry?

Fickle, fickle fans.


I'm glad we can beat the big teams without him.. but sell him??

We wouldn't have got 4th without him last season, or get to the CL final!

 

[Nyingmeh]

Seville called Baps the beast, and under the circumstances which we acquired Gallas, coupled with his complete dedication and fighting spirit. Oh my God ... Like he's played for Arsenal for ever, he deserves a song and a nickname worthy of his skill and character.

Let's baptise Gallas the GLADIATOR

 

[DBmagik10]

I remember cesc saying in an interview that he would be relishing the midfield battle.AW knew the game would be won or lost in the midfield. boy did we win that battle or what?
but yes we have to be more dynamic upfront which is where a fit and firing henry comes in. and walcott and rvp on the wings(as subs maybe)
what say we win 10 in a row and climb to the top of the league, huh?
and all around the country they start ****ting bricks. i think it'll happen.

 

[Lukazan]

Sell Henry...

Who are these ******? Can't wait for said *****'s opinions once Henry hits form and is single handedly killing teams again. And he will, believe me.

 

[Hand of god]

Spot on Legend. A few poor displays being 3, when he is half fit and has had no pre season. These people cant be arsenal fans. Any arsenal fan who cant see that the sale of henry would have destroyed the confidence of this team is quite frankly a fool.

If he is not a captain then who captained us to the champions league final last year? Who came on and got us a vital equaliser against Sp**s when we desperately needed something?Was it Gilberto that scored a hat trick on the final day to secure 4th spot?

It would have been so easy for him to go to barca, to say i have done enough and i am off. But he did'nt he showed loyalty to this club and he deserves alot better than some of the trash i have read here in the last few pages.

It defies belief that some so called arsenal fans have turned on the greatest player we have ever had at this club. This idea that the team play too much through him is nonsense. His goal record is second to none and i cant wait until he is fit and rams all this nonsense back down your throats.

 

[Ratinho]

Sell Henry...

Who are these ******? Can't wait for said *****'s opinions once Henry hits form and is single handedly killing teams again. And he will, believe me.

I await the thread 'Is Lehmann still up to it?' appearing anyday now.

Henry got the reaction he wanted yesterday tbh.

 

[Rohit]

Sell Henry...

Who are these ******? Can't wait for said *****'s opinions once Henry hits form and is single handedly killing teams again. And he will, believe me.

I await the thread 'Is Lehmann still up to it?' appearing anyday now.

Henry got the reaction he wanted yesterday tbh.

True,people here are too cynical,first he is not a good captain because he does nothing on the pitch,he doesn't talk,he gives the stare etc etc......when he does the captains job he becomes self-indulgent.

 

[zievad]

Henry doubters to be hung, drawn and quartered Saturday, 13:00, outside the stadium. Bring a drink. It promises to be one hell of a show.

:shock:

 

[marco]

I saw bit of trouble there was one manc who kept following these 3 gooners and trying to hit one of them and couple of others joined in but they were so pathetic it was unbelivable...

dont who mentioned it but they are an ugly bunch the mancs..

Atmosphere brilliant still buzzing now..