Rambo Guns Down United
14 comments May 2nd, 2011
Arsenal 1 – 0 Man Utd (Ramsey 56)
Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
Not too little, but certainly too late…
Beating United is always an achievement, and after the nightmare of the last few weeks I’m loathe to be anything other than positive today. However, our victory mainly served to reaffirm a couple of things about this season: that this incarnation of United would be as weak a Champion as this league has ever had, and that we absolutely had the potential to be supersede them and be title-winners. That potential, of course, has been squandered. Yesterday we salvaged some pride but no more than that.
What a moment for Aaron Ramsey…
The original Rambo was a veteran of war. Ours is still a youngster, but has already some through a major battle after recovering from that horrific broken leg over a year ago. To score in only his second start for Arsenal since that day, against the club he rejected to become a Gunner, was a fitting reward for the Welshman.
When I saw that Cesc Fabregas was missing and that Ramsey was starting instead, I was both concerned and surprised. Concerned that we’d miss Cesc’s leadership and creativity, and surprised that Ramsey had got the nod ahead of the likes of Andrey Arshavin.
I needn’t have worried. Ramsey was superb, and provided a real reminder of his potential. He’s a real gutsy midfielder, in the Steven Gerrard mould. Like Gerrard, he’s prepared to take risks to make something happen: he’ll try the difficult pass, or have a shot from range. In a team full of continuity players, he provides something different. With a full pre-season behind him he could be a big part of next season’s squad.
Fittingly, our next game is away to Stoke. How symbolic would it be for Ramsey to take to the field there and show them how well he fought back from the brink?
The midfield trio of Song, Wilshere, and Ramsey were superb…
In Cesc’s absence, Arsene subtly shifted the system to accommodate this new trio. Usually, Wilshere and Song would sit deep, with Fabregas floating ahead. Yesterday, it was a more fluid trio, with Wilshere and Ramsey taking turns to bomb on. For such young players, they showed great maturity, and United’s 4-4-2 system meant we always had an extra man in the middle.
Arsenal showed some steel, at last…
Alex Song won 100% of his nine tackles, and was superb at shackling the in-form Wayne Rooney. A surprising enforcer emerged in the guise of half-time substitute Arshavin, who hared up and down the left-flank, buffeting off the opposition and launching in to sliding tackles.
Wojciech Szczesny gave the defence an air of calm…
Whatever your complaints about Arsene’s project, the emergence of Wilshere and Szczesny has saved the club about £40m in transfer fees. Even when Johan Djourou was withdrawn due to injury, the Pole’s preternatural confidence transmitted to his defence.
The one exception to that was panic-prone Gael Clichy…
…who was lucky not to concede a penalty for a late lunge at Michael Owen. That said, Arsenal had been denied a spot-kick in the first half for a handball by Nemanja Vidic, so in a way justice was done.
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In other news, Arsenal have unveiled their new home kit for next season, including a reworked crest. Check it out.
