United Preview: It’s only the first half
Add comment April 29th, 2009
As massive as tonight’s game is, it will pale in comparison to the return leg at the Emirates. A first leg is like the first-half of a ninety-minute game: indicative, but never decisive. Just look at United’s game with Spurs at the weekend.
That said, there are some results that would strike a real psychological blow. 2-0 to Manchester United would leave us with a very difficult task next week, and I suppose three, four, and five nil would do likewise.
Seeing as it’s extremely unlikely we’ll hold United to a 0-0 in the manner of Chelsea’s performance at the Nou Camp, we are probably going to need to score. A 1-0 defeat would not be insurmountable, but a 2-1 defeat would be infinitely preferable.
So now we’ve established what would and would not constitute failure, it’s time to decipher what exactly we would term success. The answer, I suppose, is to approach the game like a one-off encounter, and play to win.
Whatever happens (well, almost), the return leg will be the biggest in the history of our new stadium. Although we may have slipped from regular contention for the league title, the rivalry with Man Utd is still the one that will define this period in the club’s history. The press have tried to build up Ferguson versus Mourinho and Benitez, but it has never come close to matching the intensity of competetive spirit that existed between the Scot and our own Arsene Wenger.
However shaky United have looked of late, this is a season in which they were crowned World Champions. If we’re to get a result tonight, everybody needs to perform. We need the experience of Almunia, Toure and Sagna to help out the juvenile but talented Djourou and Gibbs. We need Alex Song to continue his excellent form and be vigilant in his patrol of the central midfield. Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, and Theo Walcott need to be at their thrilling best, and Emmanuel Adebayor needs to justify his lazy twenty minutes against Boro with an explosive performance in the lone striker role – after all, Beyonce might just be watching.
The Champions League is a competition that has caused us plenty of heart-ache in the past few seasons. But as Arsene says:
“It is part of a career as well to swallow your disappointment and be a winner and come back afterwards. That is what we will try to do.”
The tie with United is an opportunity for these players to ammend for their sins in the first half of the season, and re-write history. Alex Ferguson says this has the potential to be the “perfect” semi-final.
I’ll be the judge of that. But not until May 5th.
“This is the moment we have waited for”. COME ON ARSENAL.
