Arsenal 2 – 1 Man Utd: Delighted to be wrong
104 comments January 22nd, 2007
Before the game I had predicted a draw, and everything about the way the teams lined up confirmed my initial thoughts: United went with a 4-3-3, congesting the centre of the park and allowing Rooney and Ronaldo room on the break. This meant the first half was a tense affair, highlighted by saves from veteran goalkeepers at either end: Thierry Henry headed straight at Edwin van der Sar, before Jens Lehmann pulled out two brilliant saves to deny a dipping Wayne Rooney volley and a Henrik Larsson header.
At half-time I sent my Chelsea supporting brother a text saying that the second half could well be a completely different game, and it was: open, thrilling, and containing three goals.
The first fell to United. A surging run from Patrice Evra was not tracked by Alex Hleb or Cesc Fabregas, and his cross flicked off the top off the top of Kolo Toure’s head into the path of Wayne Rooney, who dived to nod the ball into the back of the net. There was a resigned sigh from most Arsenal fans: Rooney, after all, always scores against the Arsenal.
With 83 minutes gone, and Robin van Persie and Julio Baptista thrown on for the blow-par Hleb and Flamini, I had a nagging feeling we wouldn’t do it. Nemanja Vidic was dominating in the air, and on the ground we were overplaying and lacking sharpness. Then, a scrappy goal: Rosicky and Cesc scrapped away, with the latter playing the former in to send a low cross over from the right. Thierry flicked at it, but it ran through to Van Persie, who smashed the ball high into the net. I was delighted to have been wrong.
Well, I thought, a draw’s not so bad, it’s what I predicted yesterday after all: wrong again. United were visibly shattered by conceding, and when the fourth official raised a board declaring four added minutes, we smelt blood. A surging run from Emmanuel Eboue ended in a brilliant cross to Thierry Henry. Henry had had a quiet game, outshone by the hard work of Emmanuel Adebayor, but rose at the critical moment to banish memories of his first-half miss, planting the ball beyond Edwin van der Sar and into the back of the net.
Arsenal fans (and Chelsea fans alike) were euphoric: it was the first classic victory at the Emirates Stadium; the first time the fans have stayed in the ground until well after the final whistle, celebrating a momentous victory.
Fabregas was outstanding: with Gilberto missing, he carried the midfield on a day when Flamini, Hleb, and Rosicky (late assist apart) looked a little lost. When somebody needed to take the game by the scruff of the neck, he took responsibility in a match when Henry was very quiet. Fortunately, Emmanuel Adebayor was excellent throughout: his energy levels are unmatched in this Arsenal side. It’s easy to see how he’s become a hero to the fans, placing the ball for goal-kicks when United are time-wasting, and steam-rollering players out of the way when they delay free-kicks. Keep on dancing, Ade. A mention too for Gael Clichy, who dealt with the threat of Ronaldo superbly, forcing him to switch sides.
The only downside for Arsenal was that during the celebrations of Henry’s second goal, Robin van Persie broke his fifth metatarsal. Here’s an example of some previous recovery times:
RECOVERY TIMES
Michael Owen (2006): Fifth metatarsal – predicted 6-8 weeks returned 17 weeks later
Wayne Rooney (2004): Fifth metatarsal – predicted 8 weeks returned 14 weeks later
Gary Neville (2002): Fifth metatarsal – predicted 6-8 weeks returned 21 weeks later
Ashley Cole (2005): Fifth metatarsal – predicted 6-8 weeks returned 12 weeks later
Steven Gerrard (2004): Fifth metatarsal – predicted 6-8 weeks returned 10 weeks later
It’s certainly a blow to lose our top scorer, but at least it comes in the position where we have arguably the most strength: with Henry, Adebayor, Baptista, and Aliadiere (assuming he is now prevented from moving to ‘Boro) we have more than enough firepower to cope.Arsene was understandably delighted with the victory, saying:
“We mixed our game well in the second half and never gave up and in the end we have such a spirit in squad for a while now and that took over. I’ve got some lions in that team and they are getting stronger and stronger with every game, led well by Henry.”
Lovely. Finally, all together now:
