Arsenal - Manchester United 1: 3 and it's deja vu all over again......

“Are you City in disguise?”, chanted the United fans and the Arsenal fans did not have an answer to it. Just like their team did not have an answer to United’s pace, power and efficiency in front of goal. To be fair to Arsenal they did create a lot of half chances as they always do but failed to convert them with alarming consistency.

Nani Man of the match Manchester 3 – 1 Arsenal

It was clear from the start that United were ready to absorb the pressure and hit Arsenal on the break and probably Wenger should have started with a striker up front. Arshavin is not cut out to play that role and Arsenal’s passing game requires a formation with a spearhead. However, during the first few minutes chances did come in Arsenal’s way and Arshavin failed to find the target from within the box. He should have. Because from then on, it was United all the way till the end of the first half. Nani, who was the man of the match, gave a torrid time for Clichy on the right wing. He was too quick for him and was able to beat him twice, once himself, and another time with a lovely pass to Fletcher whose cross was cleared by Gallas.

Arsenal should have seen the warning signs but they did not and paid the price. Nani, who was double teamed by Clichy and Nasri, went clear with a deft touch and then past Vermaelan to deliver a beautiful floater over Almunia, who could just palm it into his own net. It wasn’t entirely the goal keeper’s fault though. Rooney and Park were just behind him in the box and would have had an easy header from six yards had the goalkeeper not palmed it. The second goal was as good a counter attack that you could ever see. United had a corner to defend and the clearance came to Rooney, who controlled it brilliantly and then cleared Nani with a lovely pass. The winger went right till the end of the Arsenal box and then delivered a beautiful weighted pass for Rooney, who had run 70 yards after the pass, to smash it past the helpless Almunia. The goal gave a sense of déjà vu from that game in the Champions League nine months ago.

Arsene Wenger blamed the defense during the post match interview and he was right for a change. Rooney went 70 yards clear and Denilson just let him run past him and jogged behind him with no thought of going after him. The third goal made Wenger split his hair. He was seen mouthing the words ‘No defense” and he was right again. Clichy was the lone defender in the Arsenal half and Park, who was released by Carrick, went all the way to slide it past Almunia, after some wonderful passing within their own half by United.

The game looked to have been over as a contest but credit to Arsenal they kept on trying. This could even be due to the fact that United were happy to sit back and defend. Arsenal’s pressure paid off and in the 80^th minute, Vermaelan’s effort was deflected into his own net by Johnny Evans. Arsenal even had a few chances after that but it was not going to be their day.

Tough fixtures beckon both sides, with United having to travel to Villa and Everton and Arsenal’s next trip is to Stamford Bridge. Arsene Wenger spoke about picking his side up after this defeat and Sir Alex Ferguson said that he hoped that Arsenal would “batter” Chelsea. But it is very tough to imagine this Arsenal side coming anywhere close to battering Chelsea. If the form of both sides continue into the next game, it would be Chelsea that would deliver the battering and if I were an Arsenal fan, I would be dreading the next game.