Big-Two Hoodoo Strikes Again
14 comments December 14th, 2010
Man Utd 1 – 0 Arsenal (Park 40)
Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
It was another one of those games. You know, those ones where Arsene and the squad insist we’re about to announce ourselves as title challengers by beating a major rival. And then we don’t.
Usually there’s some major defensive calamity to blame. The funny thing about last night is that our defence actually coped fairly well with the gnarling threat of Wayne Rooney & Co. Our problems arose when we had the ball. We didn’t pass it well enough, and didn’t create a single goalscoring opportunity of note. From a side that prides itself on attacking, attractive football, it simply wasn’t good enough.
We should’ve known the game was up at about 4pm. As soon as Sam Allardyce was surprisingly and hilariously sacked, Arsenal fans should have realised that the footballing Gods simply aren’t kind enough to give you a win on top of that particular Christmas gift.
Apart from a brief spell at the start of the second half, we never put United under any significant pressure. They went with the 4-5-1 formation that has proven so successful against us in recent seasons, and Ferdinand and Vidic were able to cope with everything we threw at them. Once United had pinched a goal thanks to a bizarre or brilliant Park header, depending on your perspective, there only really looked like being one winner.
United could have scored a few more goals too. Nani fired over when clean through on goal, and Wayne Rooney missed a penalty in spectacular fashion, blasting high over the bar. It was probably justice done: the penalty award, for a handball by Gael Clichy, seemed very harsh. Rooney also went close with a chipped effort that was brilliantly palmed away by league debutant Wojciech Szczesny.
Szczesny started as Lukasz Fabianki was struggling with injury, and his assured display was one of the only positives we can take from last night. Whilst his kicking was a little nervy, he was generally solid and communicative. I hope he gets more playing time over the coming weeks.
I also thought Jack Wilshere did well. It’s easy to forget that he’s just 18 years old. He fought bravely and battled hard against some senior pros, and was never frightened to take the ball and try to make something happen.
Aside from those bright sparks, we were poor. Inevitably fingers will be pointed at individuals: Andrey Arshavin again failed to deliver a performance befitting of his ability, whilst Tomas Rosicky was anonymous. In games of this magnitude, you expect more from your experienced players.
Gael Clichy has taken a lot of stick overnight, some of it justified. I actually felt Clichy did well in his duel with Nani – the Portugese is in terrific form, yet Clichy won the ball more often than not. The problem is not so much with his tackling, but with what happens immediately after: he switches off. The most obvious example came when having prevented Nani from racing in on goal with a perfectly timed interception, he then dwelt on the ball long enough for Nani to take it back from him and have a clear goalscoring opportunity. It’s a mental problem – he seems to lack the concentration and discipline required of top class defenders. The fear, I suppose, is that it may be too late for him to learn it.
We had a strong bench, and bringing on Van Persie and Fabregas with half an hour or so to go was a hell of a hand to play. However, the changes seemed to disrupt what little momentum we’d put together. Cesc looked a long way from his best, and Robin was a little lost in an unfamiliar half-striker role.
It was an ugly game, with more bad tackles than good passes. Arsenal were the guiltier party, committing a succession of niggly fouls, though quite how Rio Ferdinand got away with tearing open Bacary Sagna’s shirt with his studs is beyond me. Arsene blamed the pitch for the lack of technical ability on show. He might have a point, but the size of the occasion probably had an influence too.
Arsenal do have a mental block when they come up against their major rivals. Frankly, I’m bored of writing about it. What will it take to end it? I don’t know. Maybe a lucky victory, a slice of fortune, just something to give us a win and the belief that we can beat these sides. This is the poorest Manchester United side in years, but they went in to the game knowing they had what it took to beat us. We didn’t look convinced that we could emerge victorious. In sport, confidence counts for a lot.
The win leaves United top of the table with a game in hand, and still unbeaten. It looks ominous. However, they travel to Stamford Bridge this weekend: plenty could change in this crucial period of the season. We need to refocus our energies on Stoke at the weekend, but Arsene will already have one eye on the visit of Chelsea shortly after. If we’re going to stay in the title race beyond Christmas, we’ll need to put an end to our big two hoodoo. Starting now.
