Arsenal Vs. Manchester United Premier League Preview

Judging by the form book over the past two weeks; “advantage United” seems a fairly reasonable opinion. Arsenal are without a win in the past three games, having carelessly given away a 4-2 lead at home against Spurs while failing to deal with two long range Rory Delap throw-ins against newly promoted Stoke City. These two unexpected failures for a club of Arsenal’s reputation leave them six points behind league leaders Chelsea, and while Manchester United are themselves five points behind the number one spot, their game in hand puts them in a significantly better position than the North London club. Many English newspapers have begun to question whether Arsenal’s title bid for the season is over. This might seem early days to be writing off a six point deficit, but when you exam Arsenal’s performances this season, there has been little to convince critics that they can keep pace with the title rivals, let alone beat them.

 

Arsenal’s problems lie in their lack of strong leadership, and a defense that is laughable at times. If you asked any Manchester United fan whether or not they would be encouraged by Mikael Silvestre’s weekly presence as a senior central defender, I’m sure the majority would shudder “no” before chuckling at how desperate Arsene Wenger must be to have bought the aging Frenchman. Furthermore, William Gallas would likely rank as a fourth choice center back in the United back line, and would not even be considered for a team captain at most clubs in the premiership. Gallas’ moody, and easily defeated personality hardly fit the traditional mold of a stern, unrelenting captain, and if Arsene Wenger wants to claim the title once again he must seriously invest in restoring strength and consistency at the back.

 

Manchester United meanwhile are in slightly better form, and can field a relatively fit and rested squad for the match on Saturday. While Ronaldo, Ferdinand and Vidic might have played a full ninety minutes along with central midfield duo Carrick and Fletcher, Ferguson still has Rooney, Berbatov, Brown, Neville, Anderson and Evra at nearly full fitness with rested legs. United were denied victory at the Emirates last season, but against a much better Arsenal squad, while United has remained consistent or even improved upon last season. I predict a 2-1 scoreline with Rooney to score at least one, as you can count on the Croxteth lad to start and to score based on his record against Arsenal.

 

Still, expect a good game. These two sides don’t exactly care for one another and all three clashes last year were fantastic (though the 4-0 drubbing in the FA Cup will not live long in the memory of Arsenal supporters.