Match Thread: Arsenal V Manchester United(Pre/During/After Match Discussion)

Trizo

ah its annoying more than anything we would have been 2 points off the leaders now if we had won. fack it anyhow .
hopefully this will wake fergie up and make him see that neville just isnt at the races anymore he seems to think because its a big game his experience will help the team other than deflecting arsenals first in and being crap with crosses tackles covering heading and passing in that game he did very little good.
I think all this nonsense talk of arsenal being out of it if they lost is hocum before the game the season isnt even half way through its crazy talk.
i also think for a team that gives out so much about other teams tackling i saw one or two challanges which were quite dangerous from arsenal.
great game to watch though , congrats arsenal
makes for an interesting season now anyway

Chong

Defense is not the same cause fergie has fcuked over Brown, if he is injured fair enough but otherwise its cock.

Rafa though is a revelation, Neville needs to hang up those boots he is doing us no favours what so ever.

Rio looks Jaded, Evra and Vida look still good.

Ronnie, really is not the same, tbh I know its kneejerk but I wish we had sold him.

Carrick is coming back and was good during the week.

Ando was ok I suppose, alright first half.

Park played well I thought, just seemed jaded toward the end.

Berba had no service.

Rooney had an off day, I also think his supposed run of form from weeks back has gone for the moment.

Fletch should played today .

event

titan18 wrote: »

How can they play Carrick and Anderson over Fletcher,who wasn't even on the bench.Bringing on Giggs ffs.What the f*ck is Ferguson doing?

if you criticise your manager, at least have the facts right

http://www.manchesterunited.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=131045

adox

Oh dear. Trying to keep a level head after that and not getting over excited but 1 point so far from playing the "top three" (albeit 3 away games) does not making happy reading and must put serious question marks under Uniteds title defence this season.

I`m surpised they got one goal back. For all the posession they never really looked like scoring. Ronaldo had a stinker of a second half. He went missing big time. I would have taken Carrick off for Giggs, not Anderson. There is obviously something Ferguson sees in Carrick that I am blind to.

Very underwhelming performance. Not panick stations yet but the fact of the three results mentioned above, plus the consistency of Chelsea and Liverpool at the moment, makes me think that United are already or very close to, leaving themselves too much to do.

eZe^

Game was even at half-time, but Arsenal were the better side in the 2nd half, United only waking up in the last 15 minutes of the 2nd half. Very enjoyable game, and Fabio's goal was absolutely excellent..

vorbis

What a game!
Was fearing a repeat of the spurs game after the Utd goal.
I couldn't believe Toure didn't take that ball into the corner at the very end!
What the ****!

Hopefully we can work on closing out 2 goal leads

newballsplease

My summary;
1. I do not rate G. Neville at all, i know hes the captain but id have Brown or da silva aheaad of him any day.
2. Berbatov hasnt done much to impress me at all this season, he was muck in this game today. his attitude has to be questioned.(yes i know thats his style, but imo its not good enough)
3.tevez has been treated like a dog lately. not fair.
4. Ronaldo should be banned from taking free kicks.
5.Carricks booking?? the ref should be shot.
6.Great game, could have gone either way. well done arsenal. they play great entertaining football as do utd.

Sizzler

I should be a manager, Alex feel free to give me a call

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=57758698&postcount=175

WTF were the pundits thinking saying Utd would sh1t on the gunners today? Obviously havent seen Utd play lately, they are poor, disorganised and defensively all over the shop.

1pt from a possible 9pts for Utd against their rivals, frankly not good enough and even at this stage in the season it will be hard to turn around as the way its going at the moment Chelsea Liverpool wont drop as many pts as Utd so even if Utd beat all 3 at home after Xmas it wont matter a toss.

Well done Arsenal, their football is class to watch when they are 'on it'. Great game to watch, possibly the best "big 4" h2h game for many a season

amacachi

ShooterSF wrote: »

But at start of the season Arsenal had the easiest first 12 games, United the toughest.

Arsenal now just have the luck to play the other top teams later to take points off them :P Still doubt Arsenal will challenge for the league, but still, ****in great result

anonymous_joe

United had more chances than Arsenal today...

Thought we were better, and we was robbed.

Chong

newballsplease wrote: »

My summary;
1. I do not rate G. Neville at all, i know hes the captain but id have Brown or da silva aheaad of him any day.
2. Berbatov hasnt done much to impress me at all this season, he was muck in this game today. his attitude has to be questioned.(yes i know thats his style, but imo its not good enough)
3.tevez has been treated like a dog lately. not fair.
4. Ronaldo should be banned from taking free kicks.
5.Carricks booking?? the ref should be shot.
6.Great game, could have gone either way. well done arsenal. they play great entertaining football as do utd.

1 . I agree
2. He had no service so its tough for him.
3. Tev has to wait , and to be fair he came on late today but did very little , same midweek.
4. Agree
5. Agree
6. Agree

leninbenjamin

my biggest observation of that game was how disappointing Fabregas was. Normally playing in a 3 man midfield gives him a lot more freedom to do his thing, but today he just looked a second behind the pace at all times (bar setting up Nasri). I'm quite concerned though for him, he's so important to Arsenal and their poor form at the start of this season has coincided more with Fabregas playing sh*t than anything else. I'm actually hoping Wenger will give him a holiday or something and stick with Diaby and Denilson for a couple of games.

titan18

event wrote: »

if you criticise your manager, at least have the facts right

http://www.manchesterunited.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=131045

He'd still have been better than the sh1t that we witnessed from Carrick today.Bringing on Giggs when Nani was on the bench was stupid aswell

eZe^

This reminds me of Arsenal two seasons ago, needing a win against United to stay in the title chase. That season they topped the mini-table, let's hope they can repeat that and improve their form against the lesser teams.

Hobart

Great game, really entertaining.

I thought arsenal really deserved their win. Too many bad and mediocre performances from so many Utd players. On the bad side I thought VDS (needs replacing), Neville (ditto) Anderson (looks like he cannot compete at this level) and Berbatov (worst game I have seen him play) were the stand out canditates.

I really thought Arsenal were going to struggle today, but they carved open Manu more times than I can remember them being. Super result for the Pool, and Chelski.

And Manu 1 point from their 3 games against the "big" 4 is shocking compared to other seasons.

amacachi

Great strike by Rafael, but there really isn't any need to predict him being a great player. For God's sake Bendtner scored nicely when he came to Arsenal and look at him now!

Didn't realise it was pissin rain, not too often a game that good will be played in conditions like that.

Chucky the tree

So ref's are meant to have the ability too see through peole now? Well done Souness.

Nalz

Well done Arsenal

Could of went either way - anyone that says any different hasnt a clue.

Had everything... dodgey ref decisions, both should of had penalties, nice to see two youngsters score. Great advert as Souness said for the premierleague.

What did I say? Form is a very funny thing.


Well done Arsenal. Deserved the win. Was a great game, could have been 3 all after half an hour. Had a bad feeling about this one all week and had a bad feeling after we had some near misses that it was gonna be one of those days.


Neville making it out for the second half was a joke. He was getting molested by Nasri and Rafael should have been straight on.

Berbatove playing (if u wanna call it that) 90 minutes was joke. He's too lazy for games of this magnitude. It summed it up that in the last minute Rafael won a header against Bendtner but Berbatov barely won a header all day and he's twice the size of Rafael.

Giggs coming on for Anderson was a joke. Anderson has the physical presence that you need in these games, Giggs is not up to these kinds of games anymore especially in central midfield.

Thats a lot of joking and not much laughing.


VDS - 6 Needs to be more commanding. He should have come for a corner but instead he dwindled and Diaby nearly capitalised. Stupid decision to punch a high ball in the first half too. To be fair to him he had no chance for either goal.
Neville - 4 - Sh1te. Absolute sh1te. Stupid shots on goal. Got dicked by nasri until he came off. the only thing he did right was leave the pitch.
Rio - 6.5 - not as soolid as usual. Seeing him getting beaten by Bendtner said it all.
Vida - 7 - could be blamed for Nasris second but he had to keep an eye on Walcott as nobody was. Id blame Carrick or anyone else who was near Nasri and just let him run over Vidic. Kept Bendtner quiet.
Evra - 8.5 - he was our main attacking threat which says a lot. Solid as always defensively. His runs were not rewarded with movement from the front men.
Carrick - 6.5 - we're unquestionably more solid when he plays but I feel he needs to be more aggressive when the going gets tough.
Anderson - 6.5 - gets stuck in, plays some great passes but I think he needs to learn to play in a 2 man midfield if he wants to go the distance at united.
Park - 6 - can never fault his work rate and had a good shot saved but I never feel like he's got that moment of magic in him at all.
Ronaldo - 6 - Some nice runs, created some good chances but i think he suffers from Berbatovs lack of effort.
Rooney - 6 - always tries but left his shooting boots and his chi at home.
Berbatov - 4 - not enough effort and too lazy for me.


Tevez - 6 - He tried but nothing happened for him.
Giggs - 6 - bad decisions but nothing too bad. Nothing special though.
Rafael - 8 - added a dimension to the attack, great goal, and looked solid defending.


We played ok today but that was it. Only ok. As a unit we were quite good but the individuals needed to be much better. 1 point from a possible 9 against the others just isn't good enough. All away, all after European games perhaps, but still not good enough. I think the only way we're gonna win the PL this year is 9 points from the remaining 9 against those 3. I thought when they went 2 up that it was flattering but they were the better team after the 2nd goal.

Not a good day. But once again, credit to Arsenal. Took their chances and played some great stuff. I always enjoy this fixture as both teams play ball against each other. One thing i will say against Arsenal though is that they need to man up. Moaning about being victims of heavy challenges doesn't fly with me after some of the ones they put in today. It's fair game, heavy tackles are part of the game so I don't mind that, but shut up and get on with it.

gosplan

I'd be very very suspect of Berbatov.

I don't think you can buy a lazy player and expect him to change his attitude just because he's at a really big club.

I'd love many of the Man U players to be playing for my team but not him. I really don't think he's got the attitude of a winning player, and definitely not the attitude of a typical Man u player....which is strange because Tevez does.

doonothing

Ferguson seems very put out by the match, visibly so...

amacachi

Deleted User wrote: »

Berbatove playing (if u wanna call it that) 90 minutes was joke. He's too lazy for games of this magnitude. It summed it up that in the last minute rafael won a header against Bendtner but Berbatov barely won a header all day and he's twice the size of rafel.

+1.

I couldn't understand why Ferguson signed Berbatov. He's just not a United type of player.

Frisbee

gosplan wrote: »

I'd love many of the Man U players to be playing for my team but not him.

Vidic. Without a shadow of a doubt

FutureGuy

Well deserved by Arsenal.

I'm wondering how many more dreadful games Neville has to play before Fergie gets the message.

D.S.

FutureGuy wrote: »

Well deserved by Arsenal.

I'm wondering how many more dreadful games Neville has to play before Fergie gets the message.

I could be wrong but I'd say a few more yet..Fergie is v loyal to his oldguard and I don't think he will give up on Neville just yet..although for me, even if there was a chance Neville could get back to his old self, he is a liability to have in the team in the interim period. Particularly when Brown, and Rafa, can play so much better.

adox

I have every confidence in Berbatov being a success at United.

As for Neville, well his form has been very poor since his return but I wouldnt give up on him just yet. Brown is injured at the moment and Rafael is young and inexperienced.

I`m not defending Nevilles displays, but I do think it is a bit premature to write him off just yet.

wandatowell

leninbenjamin wrote: »

my biggest observation of that game was how disappointing Fabregas was

You didn't see Bendtner no??? Like I said yeaterday, he's as about as much use as tits on a mackeral, AWFUL AWFUL player. Atleast he didn't cost us 30million
quid tho Berba had a stinker

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Deleted User wrote: »

Not a good day. But once again, credit to Arsenal. Took their chances and played some great stuff. I always enjoy this fixture as both teams play ball against each other. One thing i will say against Arsenal though is that they need to man up. Moaning about being victims of heavy challenges doesn't fly with me after some of the ones they put in today. It's fair game, heavy tackles are part of the game so I don't mind that, but shut up and get on with it.

In fairness that whole thing was blown way out of proportion, Wenger has since come out to clarify things but of course this is hidden away in the middle of another article on skysports. He didn't just come out of the blue saying that stuff, he was responding to someone. Here's what he has said

He said: "I would like to repeat what I said last week - I have nothing against physical games.

"What I want is the referee to protect both teams on the pitch and to make the right decisions.

"I have nothing against teams that try to stop us playing. I would just like to reiterate one thing - I congratulated Stoke after the game because they played very well.

"What I said was an answer to someone accusing my players of not being brave. We have to be strong enough to sort out the problems and find the solutions."

Hobart

gosplan wrote: »

I'd be very very suspect of Berbatov.

I highlighted this when he was been touted as a possible Manu signing. Ronaldo, who is similarly lazy (in terms of tracking back, defending, covering etc) has a huge effect on Rooney's game. Neville, has a huge effect on Rio's game (well it appears that way) . I don't think Utd can afford to have 2 players of this ilk playing in the manner they play.

Berbatov seems to be taking the piss tbh, in terms of laziness. I saw him 3 times today looking around with his hands on his hips, and the ball in the attacking half.

Great post BTW Neil1984, I agree with 90% of what you say, and again I thought (like you) that Arsenal deserved it today.

Unearthly

Great game, disappointed about the result. We've made things hard for ourselves as far as the title is concerned but atleast that's the 3 hardest away games out of the way now.

Both teams had great chances, Arsenal took more of theirs on the day

FOOTBALL IS THE WINNER!!1111;)

LuckyLloyd

Great game of football for the neutral, congrats Arsenal. The second goal was absolutely astonishing. Blaming the Utd defense or VDS for it seems a little harsh to me. Great fluid passing move with a clinical conclusion - don't really think you can stop goals like that tbh.

For me, Tevez was the best thing about Utd before the acquisition of Berba. I think he is getting a raw deal now. The only conclusion that I can reach is that Ferguson has decided to leave him out because of the large sum of money that has yet to be paid for him. If the other three can get firing then maybe the circa £30m can be saved and used elsewhere next summer? Because I'm struggling to think of a performance related reason to have him on the bench at the moment. Utd fans? Am I way wrong on that?

genericgoon

I think Berba will make a great addition to the United team but I think he isn't best utilised in games like these. Its players like Rooney and Tevez who will harass and harry that really get under the skin of Arsenal. Think Ferguson made the wrong tactical choices today and that we're now in a very difficult position but I still have faith in United to pull through. Also taking nothing away from the Arsenal's performance which was exciting and dynamic and I for one am thankful Adebayor wasn't playing otherwise I fear this game might of been much worse for United.

Im_No_Superman

Deleted User wrote: »

What did I say? Form is a very funny thing.


Well done Arsenal. Deserved the win. Was a great game, could have been 3 all after half an hour. Had a bad feeling about this one all week and had a bad feeling after we had some near misses that it was gonna be one of those days.


Neville making it out for the second half was a joke. He was getting molested by Nasri and Rafael should have been straight on.

Berbatove playing (if u wanna call it that) 90 minutes was joke. He's too lazy for games of this magnitude. It summed it up that in the last minute Rafael won a header against Bendtner but Berbatov barely won a header all day and he's twice the size of Rafael.

Giggs coming on for Anderson was a joke. Anderson has the physical presence that you need in these games, Giggs is not up to these kinds of games anymore especially in central midfield.

Thats a lot of joking and not much laughing.


VDS - 6 Needs to be more commanding. He should have come for a corner but instead he dwindled and Diaby nearly capitalised. Stupid decision to punch a high ball in the first half too. To be fair to him he had no chance for either goal.
Neville - 4 - Sh1te. Absolute sh1te. Stupid shots on goal. Got dicked by nasri until he came off. the only thing he did right was leave the pitch.
Rio - 6.5 - not as soolid as usual. Seeing him getting beaten by Bendtner said it all.
Vida - 7 - could be blamed for Nasris second but he had to keep an eye on Walcott as nobody was. Id blame Carrick or anyone else who was near Nasri and just let him run over Vidic. Kept Bendtner quiet.
Evra - 8.5 - he was our main attacking threat which says a lot. Solid as always defensively. His runs were not rewarded with movement from the front men.
Carrick - 6.5 - we're unquestionably more solid when he plays but I feel he needs to be more aggressive when the going gets tough.
Anderson - 6.5 - gets stuck in, plays some great passes but I think he needs to learn to play in a 2 man midfield if he wants to go the distance at united.
Park - 6 - can never fault his work rate and had a good shot saved but I never feel like he's got that moment of magic in him at all.
Ronaldo - 6 - Some nice runs, created some good chances but i think he suffers from Berbatovs lack of effort.
Rooney - 6 - always tries but left his shooting boots and his chi at home.
Berbatov - 4 - not enough effort and too lazy for me.


Tevez - 6 - He tried but nothing happened for him.
Giggs - 6 - bad decisions but nothing too bad. Nothing special though.
Rafael - 8 - added a dimension to the attack, great goal, and looked solid defending.


We played ok today but that was it. Only ok. As a unit we were quite good but the individuals needed to be much better. 1 point from a possible 9 against the others just isn't good enough. All away, all after European games perhaps, but still not good enough. I think the only way we're gonna win the PL this year is 9 points from the remaining 9 against those 3. I thought when they went 2 up that it was flattering but they were the better team after the 2nd goal.

Not a good day. But once again, credit to Arsenal. Took their chances and played some great stuff. I always enjoy this fixture as both teams play ball against each other. One thing i will say against Arsenal though is that they need to man up. Moaning about being victims of heavy challenges doesn't fly with me after some of the ones they put in today. It's fair game, heavy tackles are part of the game so I don't mind that, but shut up and get on with it.

Great post Neil, pretty much agree with all that.

Neville is like Giggs now imo, just not able for the big big games any more. Today was Berbas worst performance in a United jersey which was disappointing. We could very easlily have come away with a point in the end, Rooney missed a couple, should have had a peno, Ronaldos miss. But in fairness Arsenal took their chances and also played some great football at times too so credit too them.

wandatowell

Chucky the tree wrote: »

So ref's are meant to have the ability too see through peole now? Well done Souness.

Was watching Sky when he said it, Redknapp put him in his spot nicely tho

OPENROAD

Had to laugh at Richard Keys before the match, sky sports knew they got a bit of an interview coup with the first public interview betweem Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams in years

Iago

titan18 wrote: »

He'd still have been better than the sh1t that we witnessed from Carrick today.Bringing on Giggs when Nani was on the bench was stupid aswell

lol

carlop

Does anyone else think there is a link between quieroz leaving and our weakness under crosses and corners this season?
The defence just doesn't seem to be organised anymore. As for the attack, today it didn't click and I think Tevez should have been on earlier.

Oh and fair play arsenal, well deserved.

roryc

ffs United... only back from my match so missed the game, but by all accounts Arsenal deserved it so fair play... wtf though, you lost to Stoke and Hull then turn it on against us!

Just like after '99, looks like United just don't put in the effort after a Champions League winning season. Really can't see us winning the Prem this year, would have to put my money on Chelsea after their great start. Still think Liverpool will blow up fairly soon

ROCKMAN

I believe that great football is a good mixture of flowing and attacking football build on a solid defence. Which Utd played last year,

To my point ,
I Have not seen Arsenal much this season , But there was something refreshing about their attitude to the game .Although slightly naive at times , And its this naivety that may cost them in the long run (medals wise). NO insult meant , but its like schoolboys ,very talented schoolboys playing , the carefree , little thought of the bigger picture , play in the moment stuff .that they played was great to see and make cracking viewing ,

WELL DONE AGAIN

we will be back (i hope )

wandatowell

Fergie got it spot on in his post match interview, he called the game "fantasy football" thats exactly what it was, a stunning game of footy I think we'll agree. It took both teams willingness to go forward and create. There isn't a hope in hell you would ever see liverpool or chelsea have a go at another top 4 team in the style the Arsenal and Utd played today, its beyond them.

Here's to football, the way it meant to be played

dobsdave

wandatowell wrote: »

Fergie got it spot on in his post match interview, he called the game "fantasy football" thats exactly what it was, a stunning game of footy I think we'll agree. It took both teams willingness to go forward and create. There isn't a hope in hell you would ever see liverpool or chelsea have a go at another top 4 team in the style the Arsenal and Utd played today, its beyond them.

Here's to football, the way it meant to be played

LOL, whatever eases the pain:D

kingshankly

wandatowell wrote: »

Fergie got it spot on in his post match interview, he called the game "fantasy football" thats exactly what it was, a stunning game of footy I think we'll agree. It took both teams willingness to go forward and create. There isn't a hope in hell you would ever see liverpool or chelsea have a go at another top 4 team in the style the Arsenal and Utd played today, its beyond them.

Here's to football, the way it meant to be played

that's why Chelsea and Liverpool are top of the league

Jazzy

Deleted User wrote:

Neville - 4 - Sh1te. Absolute sh1te. Stupid shots on goal. Got dicked by nasri until he came off. the only thing he did right was leave the pitch.

Berbatov - 4 - not enough effort and too lazy for me.

ur scoring system confuses me. should neville not be given a 2 or something?

Unearthly

kingshankly wrote: »

that's why Chelsea and Liverpool are top of the league

Chelsea are top of the league, not Liverpool*

*Please don't quote this after 7pm

BrandonBlock

Des wrote: »

You are only saying that just in case United lose.

But you know in your heart that they won't. They will easily overcome Arsenal tomorrow.

Oh right.

Anyway good match, think fergie's team selection played a big part in the loss, if they wanna be serious about a title challenge don't play giggs and neville in matches like these. Should have had tevez on from the start too. Well done Arsenal.

Necronomicon

Hobart wrote: »

And Manu 1 point from their 3 games against the "big" 4 is shocking compared to other seasons.

Yep, that's a tad worrying. Although that's trips to the Emmirates, Anfield and Stamford Bridge out of the way before Christmas.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

For me, Tevez was the best thing about Utd before the acquisition of Berba. I think he is getting a raw deal now. The only conclusion that I can reach is that Ferguson has decided to leave him out because of the large sum of money that has yet to be paid for him. If the other three can get firing then maybe the circa £30m can be saved and used elsewhere next summer? Because I'm struggling to think of a performance related reason to have him on the bench at the moment. Utd fans? Am I way wrong on that?

I think most will agree Tevez has indeed gotten a raw deal. Anyone who watched pre-season United will say the same thing, that Tevez was by far the best player throughout. It certainly is a dilemma, and I'd hate to see him leave.

Mr.Nice Guy

I thought it was a fantastic game. Frenetic stuff for pretty much the entire ninety minutes. I'm disappointed with the result but there's a long way to go yet.

With better finishing United would have gotten something from the game. Arsenal took their opportunies so credit to them for that. I was very impressed with Rafael when he came on. It was a difficult game for a sub to get involved in as the game was played in such a fast tempo yet he was able to withstand the pace and contributed in a big way.

Berbatov disappointed me. Same with Rooney whose shooting was very off. I thought Ronaldo did OK. Gary Neville I'm sad to say looks past it. I don't think he should be starting games for United any more. He has become a liability. Same goes for Van Der Sar.

I felt United deserved a penalty for the Clichy handball but I also felt Arsenal could have gotten a penalty with Vidic holding back Nasri so I guess it evened itself out in the end.

No complaints about the result. Arsenal were more clinical and deserved the points for that reason. United will be back though.

kryogen

im not going to say much cause im an emotional chap at the best of times, but, as i said before the game, this was never gonna be easy and fair play to arsenal, they got the rub at times but they worked very hard for 90 minutes today and even though i feel a draw would have been a fairer reflection you cant begrudge them the win

we were not clinical enough again in front of goal, a worrying factor unless this is just a blip

upset fergie waited so long to bring on Tevez and even at that when we were 2 down why not leave Rooney on anyway and take off Carrick or Park and really have a go at it

Nev's reaction to raf's goal was a little worrying but it could have been for a number of reasons and im sure he has the club at heart as he always has

the plus side is that thats it for the away games to the rest of the leading 4 and we are only 5 points behind, that can be made up for at OT where 9 points is not out of the question in fairness

there will be more twists and turns to come this season and this day will be forgetton by may i hope, it was a great game for the neutral, even better for the arsenal fan and terrible for the united fan but still hugely entertaining

probably wont see a better game of football this season

Sherifu

kryogen wrote: »

im not going to say much cause im an emotional chap at the best of times

It's only a football match man ffs...

Daysha

I think it's time to drop Berba for the next 2 weeks or so, give Tevez a run of games and give Berbatov the kick up the arse he deserves.