Manchester United vs Arsenal: Reaction and Analyzing What Went Wrong for Arsenal

Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal

It does take a while to realize that this isn't a cricket score, but the score of the thumping handed out by Manchester United's young side to an Arsenal team that was equally young but outrageously poor in quality and experience.

It is a score that marks Arsenal's worst-ever defeat against their once-arch-rivals United, and the first time they have conceded eight goals in a match since Loughborough thumped them back in 1896.

It is a score that signals Arsène Wenger's side finally hitting rock-bottom. 

The fate of the match was sealed when the two team-sheets came out. This is how they read:

Manchester United Starting XI: De Gea; Smalling, Jones, Evans, Evra; Nani, Cleverley, Anderson, Young; Rooney, Welbeck. 

Arsenal Starting XI: Szczesny; Jenkinson, Djourou, Koscielny, Traore; Coquelin (debut), Ramsey, Rosicky; Walcott, van Persie, Arshavin. 

Manchester United were sans three first-choice defenders in captain Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Rafael da Silva.

The trio were deputized by Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling—young, but with enough quality and experience for Sir Alex Ferguson to draft them in without a second thought.

The Red Devils had an average age of about 23, but the team oozed with quality and was the ideal blend of youth and experience.

Arsenal, on the other hand, looked to have a transparent defense and were missing the likes of Bacary Sagna and Thomas Vermaelen (due to injury), and Gervinho and Alex Song (due to suspension). They were without eight first-team players in total.

But that is what a squad is for.

Manchester United were in a similar crisis two seasons ago, when almost their entire defense was on the sidelines for a few months.

Although United didn't win the title that season, they still managed to mount a serious challenge (lost out by a point) with the depth in their squad.

Arsenal's current squad will, at best, guarantee them a top-half finish.

The substitutes lineup for both teams gives a clearer picture:

Manchester United Subs: Lindegaard, Ferdinand, Fabio, Giggs, Park, Berbatov, Hernandez.

Arsenal Subs: Fabianski, Ozyakup, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Miquel, Lansbury, Sunu, Chamakh.

At half-time, with Arsenal trailing 3-1 due to some horrendous defending, there were calls to make a few changes in the back four.

But with whom?

Exactly two years ago, Arsenal had been denied at Old Trafford by an Abou Diaby own-goal and a contentious penalty awarded to Wayne Rooney.

After the match, Wenger had said, "It was a defeat that was very difficult to swallow, because the team (Arsenal) was the better side today by far. The big decisions didn't go our way, and we were lacking experience to win the game."

After yesterday's game, the phrase "we were lacking in experience" was the only constant that stood and was highlighted even further as Manchester United brutally exposed the gaping holes in Arsenal's squad.

This year, Wenger has no one to blame for the loss other than himself. Or does he?

Arsenal fans have been vocal about finally getting disillusioned by Wenger's "vision for the future." After yesterday's humiliation, most fans are calling for his head.

They are quite right with their furore, because they do not deserve to be treated like this.

Imagine the plight of the 5,000-odd fans who spent £200 on the round trip to Manchester, only to watch their side being taken to the cleaners.

The Arsenal fans have been hugely supportive of Wenger over the years, even through the dry spell they're going through right now.

Even yesterday, when their side was trailing 3-1 and 4-1, you could hear the 5,000-odd Arsenal fans over the 65,000-odd United fans.

Do they deserve to be treated like this?

However, what people fail to understand is that at the end of the day, Arsène Wenger is an employee.

He would have been sacked long ago if the Arsenal board felt that he was under-performing.

The reality is that Wenger does not have full control of the club's transfer policy and wage structure—something Ferguson enjoys, and to success.

Furthermore, Wenger seems to be gagged and bound by the board, unable to tell the fans the real back story.

Arsenal's fans have a right to know what's going on at the club.

They have been kept in the dark for too long and have been blinded by talks of an efficient financial model.

What's the point when it doesn't win you any silverware? They need to demand some answers!

There is no point in sacking Wenger two days before the transfer window closes. That would cause more damage to the club than good.

However, Wenger needs to do some panic-buying before the transfer window closes—something he refused to commit to in spite of yesterday's loss.

Arsenal has lost Cesc Fàbregas, Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Eboué and Gaël Clichy—worth a combined £70 million—this transfer window.

Wenger has, so far, replaced them with Gervinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson. 

It's not rocket science!

Ex-Arsenal player, Charlie Nicholas, hit the nail when he said, "Arsène has to go into the market; he cannot get away from that. The crime Arsène has committed has been the slowness in identifying targets. And it's sad to see that a genius manager needs humiliation to see that he needs to spend extra money."

Arsenal desperately need two experienced centre-backs.

Gary Cahill and Christopher Samba come to mind, as of now. They also need a (ideally two) quality attacking midfielder if they are to stand any chance of making the Top Four at the end of the season. 

If Wenger has the money, he needs to spend it. There's no two ways about it!

Unfortunately for the fans, they might never get to know the truth behind the mechanism that runs Arsenal FC.