The Soccer Blog: Manchester United - Arsenal Match Thread

Saturday, 12 March 2011

Manchester United - Arsenal Match Thread

Manchester United – Arsenal Match Thread - The Offside - Arsenal blog

« Manchester United – Arsenal (FA Cup) Preview | Home | Manchester United – Arsenal Match ThreadBy: Martin | March 12th, 2011
Tweet

Lineups are in:

Manchester United: Starters: Van der Sar, Rafael, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Fabio, Brown, O’Shea, Gibson, Rooney, HernandezBench: Kuszczak, Giggs, Scholes, Obertan, King, Valencia, Berbatov

Arsenal: Starters: Almunia, Sagna, Djourou, Koscielny, Gibbs, Denilson, Diaby, Wilshere, Nasri, RvP, Arshavin Bench: Shea, Squillaci, Rosicky, Ramsey, Chamakh, Eboue, Bendtner

Well, the only real surprises are Gibbs coming in for Clichy — not sure if it’s because of injury (he’s not on the bench, either) or because Clichy isn’t in the best run of form, but I’m not too worried about that — Gibbs has been quite good for the most part this season and will do fine. The other surprise is that we are once again playing Wilshere, Diaby, and Denilson together. I’ll go ahead and say I’m quite skeptical of this — we did that against Sunderland and it did not work at all. That day, Wilshere played in the advanced role, and looked a bit lost. It’s an awful lot to ask of a 19 year old to play him out of the position he’s played all year against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The other alternative would be to move Jack back and play Diaby in that role. And that works great so long as our goal is to give the ball back to Manchester United, as Diaby excels at giving the ball away in advanced positions. So…yeah. I’d rather have seen Nasri or Arshavin in that role, with Bendtner coming in on the right. I’d probably even rather see Rosicky in that role, and he’s been pretty dire there this year.

Very weird lineup from Manchester United. Unless they’re playing some sort of revolutionary new formation, they’re playing some guys out of position — by my count, 7 out of their 11 players are primarily defenders. Weird. No Berbaflop, either. Rooney always finds a way to score against us, and Chicharito has been scoring fun (small sample size and all that, but as of right now, he has the highest goals/minute ratio of any player in the history of the Premiership), so they’ll give us a handful. Hope we’ve got enough.

Come on Arsenal.

***************

Don’t forget to follow the Arsenal Offside on Twitter for the latest news, links, and updates

Some Related Stories:Manchester United – Arsenal: Match ThreadManchester United 1 Arsenal 0: So Much To Say, Yet What’s Left To Be Said?Manchester United – Arsenal Preview: Harder, Better, Faster, StrongerManchester City – Arsenal Match ThreadPole to Pole: Szczesny to Start against Manchester United?

Category: Arsenal News, Fixtures, Manchester United, Premiership

Tags: Arsenal News, Fixtures, Manchester United, Premiership
Tweet « Manchester United – Arsenal (FA Cup) Preview | Home | RyanJI'm in love with a fucking loser named Arsenal. He fucks up all the time, always breaking my heart and embarrassing me in the process. He has so much potential to be better, at times I see this great potential, but more so often I see his fucking loser side. My friends love winners line Manny and Barc, but I can't get my love to do anything but lose.

I don't know if Wegner is the man for the job anymore. I really dont. His philosophy has cost us dearly over the years. I'm worried we will lose players like Nasri, Van Persie, and more possibly Cesc. Over the years, the purchases that he has made has been a joke, players like Koscielny, Scillaci, has been jokes. Its a damn shame we can't buy players that will help us and not fuck up all the time. Sorry but to go from 4 trophies to 1 (unlikely), is a fucking disaster. If it were any other team, a new manager would be on the horizon. I think Wegner has led us as far as he can take us. Time for change.JGNormally I would say that any calls for Wenger to spend big are useless because that's just not how the man is. But, now... shouldn't he at least reconsider? Djourou is injury prone and now likely out for the season. Our front-line is as fragile as it is dangerous (when TvNG is on, of course.) Wenger KNOWS his players are injury-prone yet he does shit like rushing them back for one match, leaving them out for much more after, or not re-stocking the team sufficiently when he has the chance. Squillaci and Kos are now our 1st choice CBs for the rest of the season and TV5 will probably never come back to the now legendary heights he was last year. Yet, Wenger will most likely just promote Bartley and Miquel and do nothing more.
Oh well, as long as we beat United in May and win the title i'll be happy. But at this rate? Looks damn unlikely.

EDIT: Oh, and fuck Denilson.Marloneious/rant

Fuck you Arsenal. Goddamnit, really? Manure's line up was terrible, and we don't score? For fucks sake, I'm tired of watching young players like Gibbs and Wilshere give their all while more experienced players like Diaby/Denilson and Rosicky sit around and pick their buttholes. Oh yea, Denilson how does it feel to know that you single-handedly killed us in a game against Manure, again?? Chase back and pressure the ball of defense! I'm 16 and I understand that as a holding midfielder, you're gonna have to pressure the ball on fast-breaks. How come you don't understand that Denilson? I'm sick of you're shit, I hope you and Diaby get sold over the summer. And it was great to see Ramsey again, but it looked a little weird with Jack and Ramsey on the field, they both looked a little lost.

/end rantGalaxyhkI hate to saw faces of those whinning losers anymore. Arsene was great for all those years and could still be great, if he's a man big enough to realise his current philosophy is just crap.Ads Dutds team isnt that impressive yet we got whooped... y?? rvp can do all his magic vs small teams but when we play man utd the same shit happens.... even nasri(apart from the 2 goals he scored vs united), wat has cesc done vs man utd? atleast when we had viera henry bergkamp and co if one wasnt having a great game the other 1 picked up.. but in this team there just looks 2 be one great player and that kid is wilshere... other than that no1 is even bothered....donout of 3 comps in 2 weeks, talk of quadriple before that.

In arsene we trust, lets carry on buying freebies and developing youngsters for another 6 years.AMapsHere's how I sum this week up: two humiliating defeats, could've been even more humiliating had Almunia not pulled two straight MOTM performances. That should tell you how utterly, hopelessly terrible we were.brentonI like it better when we win.AsdflkjadfUnfortunately, I think that having a squad that consists of this many young, inexperienced, and unreliable players isn't enough to win us any major competitions.

As much as I hate to say it, some major money needs to be spent before next season.

JGWell, that was horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE. Out of 3 competitions in 2 weeks, our injury list grows to a more regular (for Arsenal) length, and Djourou is out maybe for the rest of the season
Only two really, really, really small positives:
- The damn Pea didn't score.
- Almunia again had a decent game.
We need to bounce back. West Brom away becomes our perennial game of the season. Then the Int. break will come at no better time.Patoux21You have be a masochist to still have hope for this team this season. I always knew the quality of the team was average and today it was so clear. Only RVP, Cesc, Nasri, Wilshere, Vermalen and maybe Walcott are top class the rest well just average to ugly.AsdflkjadfAt least Almunia looks sharp...brentonSagna, get the fuck out of there. If the ref tells you to get out of his face, do it.PacoUmm... and some people call this Arsenal Barcelona Lite?

The effectiveness of Barcelona is >>>>> Arsenal's.

When I saw the line-up of ManUtd, I thought "Ok, this time Arsenal can win". But you cannot. You can dominate matches against ManUtd, but you always lose. Pathetic!

I would die as an Arsenal fan. HOW THE EFFING HELL CAN YOU LOSE THIS MATCH? And you are losing such matches since 6 years!!! Damn it!MikeAnd Rosicky misses a sitter. This is a Spuds' fan's wet dream made realAds Dwith these kinda performance, i cant see us winning the league... got 3 really hard games... spuds, manure and liverpool... no way we will win it
RJMThis team is imploding. I can't even watch anymore. Every week is just another disappointment. What the fuck is going on?JGI can't believe how shitty we have been since we beat Barca. Did the players really think they were done with playing after that game?Fickle_3They just always want to take one touch too many near the box.Gooner_foreverYes, agree with you there. Time for Arsene to shove it as the Chairman has said. Wonder what excuse he'll be using this time.JGWilshere, bless him, keeps on trying. Love the man, Arsenal's finest.Ads D10 men arsenal get a 2-2 draw... common guys do it for djourou!!!London_123Tim for Wenger to go. No more hiding behind referees!!! OUT WENGER OUT!JGGame over. And Djourou possibly out for more than a few weeks. Fan-fucking-tastic.
At least Verm is close to a return.. only 3 more years!Patoux21Great now Sagna may have injured Djourou by far our best defender. It's fucking ridiculous I want to laugh. We look like a team of clowns.brentonAnd there goes the title challenge.ASDFI think there is someone who has voodoo dolls of all our players and keeps injuring them through those dolls. IF only we could find apprehend that guyAsdflkjadfI didn't think it could get much worse.

Then I remembered that this is Arsenal.MikeAnd our requisite serious injury for the match. Djourou :(JGFUCK. Djourou down.AsdflkjadfAnd the fact that Djourou is arguably our strongest defender at the moment.JGThank god VDS is out at the end of this seasonbrentonFinally looking better, couple of shots/headers at goal.

Wilshere looks like he wants this more than anyone else.Patoux21The good thing about being an Arsenal fan is to have the certainty to be humiliated a couple of times every season. Barca and now ManU. And I am sick of these players always saying we are learning from our defeat and the coach saying this team has character. Wenger chose the strongest team possible and Ferg took half the team from the regular players at the end of the bench. It tells you a lot about the rosters quality.MikeSome of our A team and many of our B team (Arshavin, Eboue, Diaby, Denilson, Chamakh etc) are the definition of mercurial, and when the majority of them are 'off' at the same time, this is what happens. Almost completely unthreatening.Patoux21If we compare players I wonder whether Rosicky, Denilson, Eboue, Arshavin, Chamakh and Squillaci would have a chance to be on the bench of ManU for a carling cup game. I am not so sure. As for Diaby I think he's good player but he just need a bit of time after all the injuries he had this year.CasimirI like taking out Diaby but why why why take off Arshavin for a useless Rosicky and not Bendtner?CasimirI like taking out Diaby but why why why take off Arshavin for a useless Rosicky and not Bendtner?ASDFWelcome back Rambo!!SairaxI think we all know our best XI can do it. Their backups? Not so much.

OMG RAMBOOOOOO!!!!!!!!RedCapedWonderRosicky for Arshavin ????brentonI'm cheering this sub, but mor because Diaby is coming off.

EDIT: Wow, our sub bench is light, if Ramsey and Rosicky are our saviours when we need two goals.JGCOME ON AARON!!Ads Datleast decapitate rooney!!!RedCapedWonderPLEASE score. PLEASE win. I'm getting sick of being let down again and again by this team.ASDFNext season dude!! This team requires some serious rebuilding and injury cover and better physical resilience before a cup can be won!! Till then...Come on Arsenal!!Ads Dno hope... almost ur first team and cant beat 2nd string of man utd players... we really are bad..!!!ASDFCould someone pls tell Diaby that when you are trying to hit Man Utd on the counter you DONT JOG
MikeI'm getting the sickening feeling that AFC is the victim of being good enough to qualify for the top competitions but not good enough to compete in each of them with the inevitable injuries/fatigue.. and it's ruining their chances to win any of them.ASDFWhy cant we have someone like van der Sar??? For heavens sake he's 40 and already has 3 glorious saves inside 60 mins.CasimirBecause we have the two Poles. One if which, Szczesny, has excellent potential to be a top keeper and between our sticks for years to comeASDF3 down, 1 more to loose !!! Come on ArsenalbrentonGood to hear the Arsenal fans singing. Keep it up, boys!Ads Dwe are being humiliated!!!! amazing... how can an arsenal fan not cry after seeing all this rubbish!!!CasimirI never want to see Denilson and Diaby in an Arsenal kit ever again. I'd rather have an unfit Ramsey out there. They have no heart of work ethic. Two of the laziest unambiguous players and they are our "holding" midfielders. Wow.CasimirUnambitious. Stupid auto correctAds Damazing... denilson doesnt even wanna track back!!1JGFFS... we need Cesc. and Theo. Denilson get out.SairaxI hate my life

2-0brentonGreat start to the half by our lads. Come on the Arsenal!

EDIT: How poor was that timing...JGKos.. so close!!!! Liking the 2nd half so farPaiersWe (arsenal) should know better than to be suprised and shocked bye evras and rooneys game. and if we did the same we would have a man sendt og. but thats not why we are behind in this game. we dont have strong enough players when diaby and denilson are team regular. sorry guys but really.... i hope denilson and diaby are on their way out this summer and that wenger will try something else... its not working now and it has not worked for some years now.. He just have too much faith in a few shitty players who would not fit any premiership teams..sooo stop beeing a economic consultant and concentrate on the game...
Ads Dvalencia coming on to peg us backPatoux21Why is Sagna always ahead of Nasri on the right side when he provides absolutely nothing offensively and leave us in danger on counter attack. Where was he when ManU scored the goal? Training to make a decent cross? Something he hasn't learned after so many years in Arsenal.brentonHave you been watching Arsenal play this season? He has offered tons going forward this year, and has two goals and three assists so far.brentonManU 1-0 Arsenal at the half.

One defensive lapse. Balls. Here are the stats from ESPN:

ManUtd Arsenal
4(2) Shots (on Goal) 7(4)
2 Fouls 3
1 Corner Kicks 1
5 Offsides 2
40% Time of Possession 60%
0 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0
6 Saves 1Ads Done defensive lapse is good even 2 kill the game... vs barca in the inj time we conceeded... now this... man utd dont even deserve the lead....AsdflkjadfGood possession from Arsenal but all the real chances on goal were from United.

Chamakh and/or Bendtner will be a welcome substitution.Patoux21Nasri and Wilshere, RVP are top class players. The rest is just poor. And Arsenal doesn't how to put pressure on ManU defense and the other end everytime Arsenal defense had the ball you could feel they could lose the ball very easily. Nasri needs to go in central position it's obvious.SairaxMaybe Chamakh can come on in the 2nd and add something more to our attack

Disappointing 1st half from us though. Need to step it up.brentonI'm getting pretty sick of all the offhand slights about our defending. Yes, we gave up 4 against Newcastle, but we have a better defensive record than Man U. Fuck off.SairaxWow Denilson totally fouled one of the da Silva twins there

We seem to have let our heads drop a bit since the goalAds Dwhy not play nasri in the middle and rosicky on the wings??AMapsWell, wingers' job are to make good runs and also make some killer passes. And how long has it been since Rosicky last did either?brentonDiaby and Denilson have little ambition. Only seeing energy from Wilshere in the middle.SairaxUm...is Rooney allowed to just bodycheck Sagna like that?AMapsYes, because he's the motherfucking sweetheart of England and Fergie.SairaxGotta get RvP more into the game. Still time to nick a couple, come on Arsenal!!CasimirWay to go Denilson to put yourself totally out of position and in no mans land to mark no one and allow that through pass totally uncontested to set up the goal.Ads DSTUPID FUCKING DENILSON!!!brentonFuck. Djourou just lost Hernandez and neither Koscielny nor Gibbs followed Rafael/Fabio.JGFuck... we can do this, come on!brentonI love hearing the announcers astounded at Sagna's position. "He can't do that!" Uh, yah he can, if that's what Wenger has asked him to do. Especially because Djourou and Koscielny have speed.Ads Dnot even a warning to evra!!!brentonNice tackling, Diaby... He's one of our defending midfielders? Useless.brentonI like our chances of defending against the da Silva twins.

EDIT: And then they almost combine to score. Ugh.Ads Dgood challenge by denilsonAds Dunited are pressing us hard...brentonDiaby is so useless positionally when opponents have the ball. It's like he thinks bouncing on his toes side to side a bit is enough.brentonThey're obviously going to press us up high with the twins on the wings.Homey_MillsYes, very odd lineup for Man Utd. Hopefully they'll suffer in the attack quite a bit. I'm curious to see which defenders will actually be midfielders.JGRafael and Fabio on the sides, Gibson and O'Shea in the middle.JGWow... Fox Sports sees it fit to show every possible bad Arsenal highlight over the last few weeks and the Anti-Arsenal commentator over here is absolutely squeeing at it. Sickening.JGCOME ON ARSENAL!!
Hope the Pea has a horrible game!SairaxCOME ON ARSENAL!!!FelegyGibbs is a welcome sub IMO. Doesn't it always seem that Clichy is the one not holding the line and letting guys get behind the line onsides (ummm Messi's first goal in the last game)?blog comments powered by Disqus