Manchester United Vs. Arsenal: FA Cup Showdown at Old Trafford
It was inevitable, wasn't it? Manchester United and Arsenal, the two top sides in the Premier League at the moment, have a meeting at Old Trafford this weekend to decide who moves on in the always exciting FA Cup.
However, both clubs have struggled to win lately.
Manchester United had a tough Premier League road trip last week that included visits to Chelsea and bitter rivals Liverpool, with both resulting in hard fought losses for the Red Devils.
Their trip to Anfield on Sunday was especially rough, with United looking tired and over-matched against a revitalized Liverpool side, now under the leadership of the legendary Kenny Dalglish.
Meanwhile, Arsenal were able to put a heartbreaking Carling Cup Final loss behind them by thumping League One-side Leyton Orient out of the FA Cup to set up their meeting with Manchester United this weekend.
The positive result was followed by an uninspiring home draw against Sunderland, which still leaves the Gunners three points behind league-leaders United in the standings, despite a game in hand. Things did not get much better for the North London side this week, who were tossed out of the Champions League by Barcelona on Tuesday.
It's safe to assume that both clubs really need a win this weekend in order to regain some momentum as they enter the final stretch. We're going to take a look at some of the tactics that'll be deployed by either side, as well as some of the more pressing questions leading up to the opening whistle at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Chris Foy: Will He Let the Players on the Field Decide the Match?
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Normally, the referee doesn't get much of a spotlight leading up to a match. Chris Foy, on the other hand, has the unenviable task of overseeing a match between two sides that have had some serious issues with the man with the whistle lately.
Both clubs can attest to having felt cheated by the referee in recent matches. Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson have made it no secret that they wouldn't mind not seeing Martin Atkinson on the pitch for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger and company had no problem expressing their displeasure over Massimo Busacca's controversial display during the Gunners 3-1 Champions League defeat to Barcelona on Tuesday. The Swiss ref made a harsh decision to send off (a second yellow card) Robin Van Persie after the Dutch striker took a shot on goal as the offside whistle blew.
Therefore, Chris Foy can look forward to overseeing two of the most frustrated sides in England right now. Lucky for both United and Arsenal, though, Foy is by far one of the more consistent refs in England right now.
His one and only red card in all competitions this season was handed out to Newcastle United's Ryan Taylor following a bad two-footed challenge on Bolton's Johan Elmander during the two sides' 1-1 Premier League draw last month.
Foy has only handed out 56 yellows, second to Mark Halsey with 55, for the lowest in the England right now. The Lancashire-born ref prefers to play the advantage more often than his compatriots, so we can hopefully look forward to a more well-paced and open match this weekend.
Either way, Chris Foy is going to have his hands full when he walks onto the pitch at Old Trafford Saturday, with both sides desperate for a win.
Sir Alex Ferguson: Will He Go Back to the Basics?
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The old Scot has had a few bad days at the office recently. Sir Alex Ferguson has been most criticized for his choice of formation, as well as his team selection recently. With an injury list a mile long for a good part of the last month, though, it's hard to blame him.
His choice to go with a 4-4-2 against Liverpool on Sunday backfired, with the Red Mersey siders running rampant against a tired midfield in front of a shaky patchwork defense. Ferguson will look to go back to a stronger formation, like a 4-2-3-1 or the ever-reliable 4-5-1.
At the end of the day, though, it's about the players who are filling out that team sheet this Saturday. Ferguson will welcome back club-captain Nemanja Vidic back to the defense, while both Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand should be pushing for a return to the first team following recent injury spells. Don't be surprised if Chris Smalling holds onto his spot, though, impressing in Evans' and Ferdinand's absence.
Edwin Van der Sar will most certainly be in goal, despite a busy afternoon at Anfield on Sunday. Ferguson will probably play it safe on the outside of the defense, with John O'Shea and Patrice Evra out wide right and left respectively. The Brazilian twins, Rafeal and Fabio Da Silva, will most likely start the match on the bench.
Darren Fletcher should be back in the center of the midfield after starting the loss at Liverpool on the bench because of an apparent illness. Ferguson will be left with the big decision of who to partner with Fletcher, choosing from a pool of names that include veteran Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Darron Gibson.
There have been no reports of Anderson returning from rehabbing a knee injury in Portugal, nor Owen Hargreaves recovering from whatever new knock is bothering him, so it's safe to assume that both will miss out.
Ferguson has recently broken his silence with the media ahead of the FA Cup fixture with Arsenal, so we may learn more about certain United players' fitness between now and the opening whistle Saturday afternoon (12:00 PM EST stateside). We'll discuss who will possibly be lining up top and on the wing for United further down the line.
Arsene Wenger: Will He Be Able to Pick His Squad Back Up?
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Arsene Wenger has the unenviable task of picking up a young team following a string of disappointing results. The Gunners have struggled in recent years to respond positively following elimination from major tournaments, usually letting bad results carry over into other competitions. This has been one of the major contributing factors to Arsenal's trophy drought over the last six years.
Arsenal will most certainly look to rebound with a win this weekend at Old Trafford. A draw would not be the worst situation for the Gunners, since that would mean United would have to travel to the Emirates for the replay. However, with the fixture list already looking quite crowded, each team will most certainly treat the match as a one and done situation.
Tactic-wise, Wenger will probably stick with the modified 4-3-3 that has been the standard for Arsenal underneath his leadership for nearly 15 seasons now.
There have been no reports on Alexander Song's fitness yet, who has missed out on Arsenal's last few matches due to a knee injury. If he's not fit for Saturday, Wenger will probably stick with Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere in the holding roles, with Denilson on the bench.
One of the big problems for Arsenal going into Old Trafford this weekend is the loss of Cesc Fabregas to injury again. Wenger will most likely move Samir Nasri back into the middle, a role he seemed quite comfortable in during Fabregas' spell on the sidelines during the early part of the current campaign. The big question is who is going to line up in front of Nasri.
Wenger will have Robin Van Persie at his disposal, but he may choose to move him out wide. With Nasri most likely moving inside and Theo Walcott's possible inclusion in the squad being nothing short of shocking, moving the Dutch striker out wide will give Arsenal some much needed attacking pace from the wings.
Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner will most likely draw straws to fill in up top if RVP moves out wide, while Andrei Arshavin should most certainly start on the opposite wing, with Tomas Rosicky moving to the bench.
Arsenal will stick with Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy at the fullback positions, while Wenger will have to decide on sticking with the mistake-prone Laurent Koscielny or giving Sebastien Squillaci another shot alongside mainstay Johan Djourou in the center of the defense .
Don't worry, we'll be discussing the Gunners' goalkeeping situation further down the line as well.
Nani's Got a Flesh Wound: Who Will Bleed on the Field for Him?
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As a result of a hard Jamie Carragher tackle during the United's recent loss at Liverpool, Nani will most certainly miss out. His absence from the starting lineup will be hard-felt, with the Portuguese winger contributing 14 assists along with 10 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions for United this season.
Besides being their most consistent attacking player from the wings this season, Nani is United's best option on set pieces, especially when it comes to direct free kicks. Wayne Rooney has plenty of power, but can't curve the ball like Nani can. Meanwhile, Ryan Giggs can get plenty of movement on the ball, but lacks Nani's power.
Since United will probably go back to more traditional 4-5-1, Ferguson has the tough decision on who to fill Nani's slot, as well as who to play alone up top.
Ryan Giggs will likely fill in on the left, while Ferguson will hope long-term absentees like Park Ji-Sung or Antonio Valencia will be fit in time to fill in out wide right. Gabirel Obertan may make the subs bench, but there is no way he'll be handed a start following a disappointing display during United's 1-0 victory over Crawley Town in the previous round.
If neither Park or Valencia are fit enough for anywhere but maybe a spot on the bench, Rooney will most likely move out wide right. As previously mentioned, with Anderson out, Ferguson will then go with the more defensive central midfield alignment of Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes and the fan-favorite Michael Carrick.
This leaves the question of whether to play Dimitar Berbatov or Javier Hernandez up top. After watching Arsenal struggle with the pace of Lionel Messi and David Villa during their midweek defeat at Barcelona, going with the speedy Hernandez may be the best option. Berbatov is great at holding the ball up, so they may want to save him for later in the match if the game is close.
Nani's talented presence on the pitch will be missed, but his cries and ground-pounding theatrics will gladly be forgotten come Saturday.
Manuel Almunia: There's Nobody Else to Wear Those Gloves, Is There?
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Arsenal have a bit of an injury crisis at the goalkeeper position as of late. Wojciech Szczesny will miss out due to a dislocated finger suffered during the Champions League clash with Barcelona, while Lukasz Fabiaski has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury suffered a while back.
This leaves the Gunners with veteran Manuel Almunia as their only goalkeeping option at the moment. Vito Mannone is currently struggling with a thigh injury while on loan at Championship-side Hull City, so there's little chance of him being recalled.
Therefore, Wenger will either look into making an emergency loan or calling up youngsters James Shea or Damian Martinez from the reserves to back up Almunia.
Almunia is guaranteed to start at Old Trafford on Saturday, though. He did quite well against Barcelona on Tuesday after being called into action following Szczesny's early exit due to injury. Despite the scoreline, Almunia finished the night as Arsenal's best player, making a majority of the Gunners' nine saves.
However, for most of the last year, Almunia has been known throughout the Premier League community as "Howlmunia." The Spanish-born keeper quickly supplanted German international Jens Lehman upon his arrival in 2004 as Arsenal's number one option between the post. During the second half of last season, though, Almunia made a series of terrible blunders that were a big part of Arsenal's failure to keep up in the Premier League title race.
He started out the current campaign well enough, but fell down the depth chart because of an elbow injury sustained during a shocking 3-2 home defeat at the hands of West Bromwich Albion back in September. Failing to regain the top spot in net, it was certain that Arsenal would move him during the recent winter transfer window.
Luckily, the Gunners were smart to hold onto Almunia, especially after Fabianski needed season ending shoulder surgery at the beginning of February. With Szczesny possibly facing a a long spell on the sideline, Almunia must take advantage of this opportunity in order to regain the trust and respect of the Gunner faithful.
Unless Arsenal finds a way to clone Johan Djourou, it can be guaranteed that Almunia will be called into action on quite a few occasions at Old Trafford on Saturday. If he puts on a display similar to his recent heroics during the Gunners' losing effort at Barcelona, Arsenal stand a much better chance of leaving Manchester with their heads held high.
Final Verdict: The Pitch Will Look Fantastic
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Thankfully, we shouldn't have to worry about playing conditions on the field being a deciding factor. That's the one guarantee I can make for this Saturday's matchup. The playing surface at Old Trafford is by far one of the best in England right now and should be in tip-top shape for what will hopefully be a fast-paced, open match.
Both sides will be looking for a win at Old Trafford, and I for one hope that they do not disappoint with a goal-less draw. The domestic rivalry between the Manchester United and Arsenal has been somewhat dormant lately, especially due to the resurgence of rival sides like Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham in recent seasons.
The two sides may not be as strong nor as talented as they were during the previous two decades, and they surely lack commanding figures like Roy Keane and Patrick Viera, but let's hope the need for momentum and the desire to win gives us one hell of a match.
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