arsenal v united

wheres me jumpa

deserves a thread of its own.

it is such a weird atmosphere going into this game. for a long time this game was billed as a potential title decider. this time round the result of this game will probably have no bearing on the title.

but the circumstances of the game could make it a cracker. very often the aim of this game was not to lose. this time both teams need to win.

the only team news so far, arsenal are without van persie and ljunberg.

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=349650&lid=NewsHeadline&sub=Ljungberg+and+Van+Persie+ruled+out&navlid=&sublid=&Title=Ljungberg+and+Van+Persie+ruled+out

Big Nelly

Should it not be Arsenal v Utd?

Anyway can only see one winner here. Utd. Arsenal where brutal against Villa and I don't expect them to improve much

wheres me jumpa

Big Nelly wrote:

Should it not be Arsenal v Utd?
/QUOTE]

done!

arsenal have been poor lately but i have no doubt they will raise their game tonight.

Villain

Arsenal were outplayed by Villa last week but they will be well up for this, although Van Persie and Ljunberg are big losses and Utd are firing well up front. Going on form Utd should win but these games can always go either way, I'll sit on the fench and say score draw.

phenom

This should be an interesting game , Villa did outplay Arsenal last week and Dont seem that strong in Midfield any more,

No Keane or Viera which it make it different imo. United played well during the week so hopefully they can win this.

2-1 to United.

Fusion251

I reckon if United start well Arsenal will crumble, I mean the way they just dies against Bolton a few games ago was terrable. If they get a chance to pass it around they're dangerous but I don't reckon they'll get that chance tonight....

Man United 2 Arsenal 1 I reckon

Fusion

gracehopper

if united play as they did against bolton they'll score a couple of goals but i fancy arsenal to bounce back from their slump in form, i'll go for a score draw maybe 2-2, should be a good game though

phenom

gracehopper wrote:

if united play as they did against bolton they'll score a couple of goals but i fancy arsenal to bounce back from their slump in form, i'll go for a score draw maybe 2-2, should be a good game though

Well Arsenal are missing VAn persie and as you know Ashley cole will be out long term so WHo is to replace him ...Pascal Cygan, Saw him play last wekk and looks to make so silly mistakes

Here is the preview of the match from skysports.com

Both Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have been left helpless in Chelsea's wake, but perhaps the most menacing rivalry in The Premiership sees its latest instalment as both sides look to put one over their perennial foes.

Previous encounters have witnessed the famous 21-man brawl in 1990, and more recently a high-profile food-fight at Old Trafford, but this season's first meeting takes on a slightly unusual flavour with prime protagonists Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane both conspicuous by their absence.

The two departed captains had a bust-up in the tunnel in last season's 4-2 victory for United in North London, and The Gunners will be hoping Ferguson's last ever trip to Highbury is less productive as they look to climb the league table after a desperately disappointing season to date.

Whilst the festive period noted some improvement with seven points from three games, 2006 begins in daunting fashion against a Wayne Rooney inspired United that have won eight of their last ten outings in the league.

The Northern giants will be keen to avenge the undeserved FA Cup final defeat back in May, and have the best of recent meetings having lost just twice in the last ten clashes.

Arsenal go into the game missing impressive Dutch forward Robin van Persie as the former Feyenoord man has tweaked his knee, meaning Jose Antonio Reyes could renew acquaintances with Gary Neville - although Dennis Bergkamp is also available.

Joining van Persie in the treatment room is Freddie Ljungberg after the Swedish winger picked up a virus, leaving a spot open for summer signing Alexander Hleb to come into the reckoning for his first taste of the rivalry.

However, Wenger's hopes have received an important boost with the news that Brazilian midfielder Gilberto has been passed fit after recovering from a groin problem, and the French tactician must decide whether to partner the World Cup winner with either the industrious Mathieu Flamini or the more subtle talent of Francesc Fabregas.

Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy remain long-term absentees so Pascal Cygan is expected to continue as a makeshift left back, and the Frenchman may already have done his side some damage after targeting the irrepressible Rooney in the build-up to the showdown.

Ferguson has also stoked the fires by aiming a jibe at the relative traditions of the sides by stating that Arsenal may struggle to fill their new 60,000 Emirates Stadium next season, and the wily Scot will be aware that United possess the second best Premiership record at Highbury behind Liverpool.

United are expected to recall Ruud van Nistelrooy, the subject of Vieira's ire in his autobiography and instigator of a number of flashpoints in the past, after the Dutchman was handed a breather for the 4-1 destruction of Bolton.

Paul Scholes is also expected to reclaim his spot in the starting XI, although the star does have a migraine and fellow midfielder Alan Smith is also struggling with a chest infection.

Defender Wes Brown is also a doubt with a groin problem, and Gabriel Heinze is a long-term victim, but United boast a healthy regiment of players as they aim to further undermine Arsenal's season.

Cutie18Ireland

If Ronaldo starts he'll give cygan an awful time. 2-0 Utd!

Fusion251

Cutie18Ireland wrote:

If Ronaldo starts he'll give cygan an awful time. 2-0 Utd!

I agree, if he plays the way he did the other day he'll be all over Cygan.

Fusion

blastman

Arsenal were bad against Villa, but Utd were poor against Brum (certainly in defense - again!). Form tends to out the window in these games though, so my prediction is pizzas all round

Corben Dallas

prob 1-1 draw, Arsenals only hope is that If Henry gives 10/10 perforamnce....maybe Bergkamp as well,always plays well in big games?

Arsenal are always better at home, should be a good game, is VIDIC starting tonight?

PHB

I think it depends on how Fergie formats his team.
I honastly hope we play a 4-4-2, with Ronaldo and Park/Giggs on the wings, with Fletcher and Scholes in midfield, and Rooney and Van Nist up front.
If we do that I think we can score 3 goals against Arsenals current defense, just because of the weaknesses of the full backs.
Defensivly will be our problem, but I think that Neville - Rio - Slyvestre - X can hold back a lot of Arsenals passing into the goal technique. Where we have concedded goals a lot lately is through free kicks and defensive errors due to high pressure, which Arsenal don't do. I'd still say we won't keep a clean sheet though....

Midfield will be very interesting. I think Arsenal have a stronger midfield of Gilberto - Fabregas/Flamini than Scholes and Fletcher, but only by a little bit imo. I expect Fletcher to shine.
That said, Smith might play, and I assume he will just miss more and more tackles

But with both Ruud and Henry playing, anything could happen.
But I'm gona go ahead and predict a 3-1 scoreline, with 2-1 being the score in the 75th minute and us getting another on the break

mr_angry

Up until a couple of weeks ago, Arsenal had a 100% home record this season, and the defeat to Chelsea was followed by a 4-0 win at home to Portsmouth. At Highbury, they seem to be a different team altogether.

Having said that, Cygan up against Ronaldo... God, I'm almost afraid to think about that pairing. Its hard to look past a United win, but there's always the hope of some shock result...

zAbbo

Henry 1st goal, Arsenal to win 3-1 @ 51/1

Thank you

LostinBlanch

Well Zabbo you've got good odds there. Still I prefer PHB's scoreline though :rolleyes:

Lex Luthor

2-0 to Man U if Wes Brown is back.
2-1 if he isn't

wheres me jumpa

i just backed united, sheffield united and barcelona to win tonight and it works out at 6/1 on paddy power.

jank

Im not condident about this game at all at all.

Arsenal have Cole, Clichy, Gilberto, Van Persie and Ljundberg out
With such a small young but talented squad it is a big blow to have that many players out.

I was really hoping to have van perise and cole back but this game is a week or 2 too soon.

I think Wenger will go for a 5 man midfield strangely.

Team will be

- - - - - - - - Lehamnn -

Lauren - - Toure - - Campbell - - <Insert Bald Useless Man Here>

Hleb - - Cesc - - Flamini - - Reyes
- - - - - - - - - Pires -

- - - - - - - - - Henry -

Helb and Pires may change position during the game with one tucking infield and the other going out wide.

I say a score draw but im preparing for a defeat! Would be a great morale booster for Arsenal if they win as they need it more than UTD.

mike65

Here's hoping for a thoroughly 'unsatisfactory' draw, not much use to either team!

Mike.

Dont be at yourself

Dare I say it, that Arsenal team looks stronger on paper than Utd's. But Arsenal's confidence can't be too high bearing in mind recent results, so they'll probably blow it. So I'm going for a 2-0 to Man U.

Gangsta

I'm on the same boat as Jank. Utd are playing well and will run the useless bald man silly. If Arsenal raise their game and are fired up I fully believe they can beat Utd though. Will be an interesting game but I predict a draw/win for utd.

Lemlin

Is Neville afraid to look at Henry? Thierry didn't seem to be offering him a handshake anyway. Perhaps he's following on from his mate Pat.

Iago

anybody else having problems with NTL?? It's gone completely here

20 Times 20 Times

Iago wrote:

anybody else having problems with NTL?? It's gone completely here

Your not missing much anyway.

carpothepunk

Absolutely woeful game at the minute,no creativity at all

wheres me jumpa

bad game so far, hopefully united will come out flying in the second half, fergie has been working wonders at half time lately.

the one thing we all thought was gona happen hasnt, ie cygan getting roasted. ronaldo is drifting all over the field and not really focusing. thats a key area and united need to exploit it.

BaZmO*

Awful game so far. Started off lively enough though. What is it with Arsenal and the intricate passing all the time? They get better results when they are running at defenses. And so far Utd. are just as bad.

Hopefully the second half won't be as bad.

B.

zAbbo

Champions League, you're 'avin a laff

zzzfest so far

phenom

That tackle that Lauren did on Cristiano at the corner flag was terrieble and he only got a yellow card, Giggs got a yellow car for barely tapping reyes . Anyone see Reyes dive after that incident ?

garred

Neville having a good game so far, did you see him in the tunnell? Did'nt acknowledge Henry at all, wonder who that reminds you of. Gigsy not doing much, can never understand why managers get wingers to swap wings during a game. Giggs has'nt got a right foot so why put him on the right wing.

carpothepunk

All Neville is doing is thinking of the time Beckham would be standing beside him:rolleyes:

Lemlin

garred wrote:

Neville having a good game so far, did you see him in the tunnell? Did'nt acknowledge Henry at all, wonder who that reminds you of. Gigsy not doing much, can never understand why managers get wingers to swap wings during a game. Giggs has'nt got a right foot so why put him on the right wing.

I'm not too sure about that. The Sky commentators saw it that way too but they like to talk up English players eg. all the over the top crap about Rooney in the build-up.

I saw it as Neville arriving out and Henry making it his business to ignore him. He shook hands with Van Der Saar and a couple of other United players but totally blanked Neville, apart from a little sidewards glance.

In a way, he was saying to Neville that they hadn't forgotten what happened last year. IMO anyway.

gimmick

0-0 Full time.

The game threatened to get going at times, but never could. IMO, United lost 2 points, rather than gaining one. Arsenal were quite poor and never even looked like scoring. They are a pale shadow of their former selves. They need at least one new centre hlaf, an entirely new midfield (Fabregas needs a wise, expierienced head next to him), and a goal poacher to complement Henrys style.

Arsenal will not challenge for a Champions League spot, judging by their pitiful performances over the last few months.

kaimera

we'll take that. advantage liverpool again

crap game?

carpothepunk

Absolutely dire,worst game ive seen in a long time

phenom

Poor game indeed, Afew chances at both ends , Wes Brown made a good block of a shot , He looks to be a good defender.

wheres me jumpa

imo arsenal were there for the taking. united should have beaten them. both set of centre backs defended well. the few times united got a cygan it looked promising.

thought john oshea played well. composed on the ball, passed well, didnt give the ball away. had fletcher, who also played well, got forward a bit more, that pairing would have looked great tonight.

adox

Lemlin wrote:

The Sky commentators saw it that way too but they like to talk up English players eg. all the over the top crap about Rooney in the build-up.

Yeah hes over-rated.:rolleyes:

mike65

Exellent result for Pool, its surely a sign of the times that this thread is still only two pages long.

Mike.

Shred

Poor game, but a great result for Liverpool (and spurs;) ). United looked the more threatening of the two in the 2nd half but neither team created many clear cut chances of note.

RVN10

that game was so painful to watch , ruud and rooney very quite tonight although roo tackle on reyes was mint lol

Gangsta

adox wrote:

Yeah hes over-rated.:rolleyes:

tbh I have to agree with Lemlin, they always over-talk the English players. Rooney is a fantastic player but can't be considered one of the best as it stands.

Chong

One word sums it up "Boring".

Jivin Turkey

Not a great game at all, both sides had chances to win, but it was a result that neither wanted and suits both Chelsea and Liverpool.

gimmick wrote:

They need at least one new centre hlaf

To be fair Campbell and Toure are top CB's. Senderos has the potential to fill Campbell's boots when he retires in a year or two, and is more than adequate cover for now. Cygan may not be up to much but he is fourth choice.

The only reason they *may* need a CB is due to Toure going to the ANC, but is it really wise to be buying players because you are missing one for a couple of weeks?

gimmick wrote:

an entirely new midfield (Fabregas needs a wise, expierienced head next to him)

Is Gilberto, world cup winner and Brazilian international with almost 40 caps, not an "experienced head"? What Arsenal really need is their players to start playing well. At this stage last season Ljungberg and Pires had scored about 20 league goals between them, Hleb has also been a bit disappointing after coming with good recommendations.

gimmick wrote:

and a goal poacher to complement Henrys style.

I agree with this, and I think this has been a problem for years.

gimmick wrote:

Arsenal will not challenge for a Champions League spot, judging by their pitiful performances over the last few months.

Not even challenge? They are three points off CL qualification for God's sake, get a grip! They are hardly playing spectacularly away from home the league, but they have still blown some teams apart at times.

"Pitiful performances over the last few months"? They won 6/6 in Novmenber, had a record of W4 D1 L1 in October.

Some of Arsenal's players are playing well below their ability, once the get their game together they will be back within touching distance of second place.

Villain

Well just back in after watching it, very disappointed, neither team did enough to win it imo. Ronaldo did well until the final ball although I think Arsenal were trying to make him look good the way they were diving in at him.

Are United really that badly stuck for midfielders that they have to play O'Shea there?? They had no creativity in the center, I can't understand why Saha didn't get a chance, was Fergie afraid to go for it??

therecklessone

Incredibly poor game, Utd really need to address the centre of midfield either in this window or in the Summer.

Would have preferred to see Arsenal lose mind.

yop

Wowful game, 2 points dropped, Poll ruined the game pointless bookings and bowing the typical diving of Reyes et al. How Rooney got booked for the shoulder challenge on him was a joke. Lehmann was a spectaular idiot as usual.
Plenty of chances to win it but did not take them.

wheres me jumpa

irish1 wrote:

Well just back in after watching it, very disappointed, neither team did enough to win it imo. Ronaldo did well until the final ball although I think Arsenal were trying to make him look good the way they were diving in at him.

Are United really that badly stuck for midfielders that they have to play O'Shea there?? They had no creativity in the center, I can't understand why Saha didn't get a chance, was Fergie afraid to go for it??

i think the sad thing is, fergie is happy with the draw tonight. however i felt united had a greater urgency in the last quarter fo the game.

we were without scholes and smith tonight and i thought oshea and fletch done very well. i felt the problem was down the wings. giggs was awful, ronaldo got into it in the second half a bit more but was still wasteful.

Pepe LeFrits

Jivin Turkey wrote:

Not a great game at all, both sides had chances to win, but it was a result that neither wanted and suits both Chelsea and Liverpool.


To be fair Campbell and Toure are top CB's. Senderos has the potential to fill Campbell's boots when he retires in a year or two, and is more than adequate cover for now. Cygan may not be up to much but he is fourth choice.

The only reason they *may* need a CB is due to Toure going to the ANC, but is it really wise to be buying players because you are missing one for a couple of weeks?


Is Gilberto, world cup winner and Brazilian international with almost 40 caps, not an "experienced head"? What Arsenal really need is their players to start playing well. At this stage last season Ljungberg and Pires had scored about 20 league goals between them, Hleb has also been a bit disappointing after coming with good recommendations.


I agree with this, and I think this has been a problem for years.


Not even challenge? They are three points off CL qualification for God's sake, get a grip! They are hardly playing spectacularly away from home the league, but they have still blown some teams apart at times.

"Pitiful performances over the last few months"? They won 6/6 in Novmenber, had a record of W4 D1 L1 in October.

Some of Arsenal's players are playing well below their ability, once the get their game together they will be back within touching distance of second place.

Decent summation of Arsenal's state apart from the goal poacher part. Van Persie has shown himself to be extremely adept at only getting one chance and smashing it into the back of the net.

Arsenal need another striker (2 is not enough), a winger, a box-to-box midfielder (someone who can play either the Fabregas or Gilberto role), a versatile defender (so Cygan never plays again, in any position), and an understudy to Lehmann.

I hope Wenger agrees before Henry gets too pissed off with the lack of progress.

Villain

wheres me jumpa wrote:

i think the sad thing is, fergie is happy with the draw tonight. however i felt united had a greater urgency in the last quarter fo the game.

we were without scholes and smith tonight and i thought oshea and fletch done very well. i felt the problem was down the wings. giggs was awful, ronaldo got into it in the second half a bit more but was still wasteful.

Thats what I can't understand why would he be happy with a point, is it because he didn't want to let Wenger get one over?

Fletch did well but O'Shea was clearly out of position, Utd need to buy a quality midfielder, I'd be throwing money at Ballack if I was Utd.