10 things I learned from the Arsenal- Manchester United game

Now that the dust has settled on Arsenal‘s win over Manchester United, I will try and express the 10 things I took from the game being an Arsenal fan.

• There IS life after Cesc Fabregas, and it may be better as the team doesn’t over depend on him to produce the killer pass or wait for him to create a moment of genius,much like we did with Henry. Instead everyone takes more responsibility and every is more committed to the cause. I am not suggesting we should sell Cesc immediately as we are a better team with him over the course of the season, but if he were to leave this summer (only way would be if Barcelona pays us 35-40m,which is what he is worth), we may not crumble. It was essential to keep him at the start of this season but with the emergence of Wilshere and the return of Ramsey, we can afford to grant him his wish but on our terms and price.

Comeback kid Aaron Ramsey delivered the 'knockout punch' and proved that there IS life after Cesc Fabregas

• We don’t need a new GK at all. Szczesny has the command, reflexes and intimidation to be our #1 for the next decade and a half! All he lacks is experience but he will only gain that playing and not being benched. And learning his trade from ‘Mad Jens’ may be the best thing for him.

• Shava can tackle and be a midfield monster when he wants. When we needed to keep the lead, win the ball back and break down United possession, one unexpected figure stood out. Shava must have put in 5-6 tackles that even Vidic would be proud of and broke up so many attacks and won the ball back. If he shows this kind of commitment, to go along with his productivity (has a hand in one goal every 2 games) then he can become one of the leaders of this team as he has the experience.

• The irony of the situation, where all and sundry blamed Wenger for playing too many kids with very little experience and him turning around and selecting a team that was not only his youngest of the season but also the youngest of any team in the Premier League this season. The average age of the starters was just over 23 years and they played like grown men. It’s not surprising that none of the ‘Wenger Out’ brigade will bring this up, or even remember this when they speak of throwing him out of the club the next time. He could have easily picked Nasri to play in the Cesc role and Arshavin out wide, we have played like this before and would have been more experienced, but he chose a guy who was making his comeback from a horrific leg break and has only played games on loan to Championship outfit Cardiff since his recovery. If Sir Alex had done something like this, the fans, theirs and rivals (Gooners even!) as well as the public and every ‘pundit’ would be singing praises of ol’ red nose and his tactical masterstroke, yet no mention of it from anyone regarding Wenger. But that is understood, I mean how will that fit in with the flavour of the season, ‘Wenger Bashing’ ,it’s counter productive to those, so lets just ignore it ever happened. :)

• Speaking of the young Welshman, what a gritty and classy display he put in. He kept the ball moving, found the open man, won his tackles, tracked back and took his goal really well. He could have easily tried to smash it but he went for placement instead. What stands out even more for me is that Carrick was coming in fast and making a tackle, with what happened to him, he could be forgiven if he has decided to pull out of the shot, but he showed tremendous mental strength and courage to not even flinch with a tackle coming in and concentrated on placing his shot between Carrick’s legs and out of reach of van Der Sar. This shows how strong he is mentally and how tackles in the future won’t affect him. And while I am on the subject of Ramsey, I would like to thank Gary Neville from the bottom of my heart. Had it not been for you Gary, he could very well have been playing on the other side in that game. Possibly the only great thing GNev has ever done. Also what a week for Ramsey to mark his comeback into the team, form and goal scoring with Shawcross and Stoke away next week. Another major mental test for him, to go back to the ground and play against the player that mindlessly shattered your foot with an unneeded tackle. I wonder if Wenger will risk him knowing this, or will bring Cesc back in, permitting he is fit. Would be interesting to see how those 2, Shawcross and Ramsey, react to each other when they come face to face again. As a fellow gooner (Sajit) said, “This time its personal”.

• How mouth-watering was the Wilshere-Ramsey combination in midfield? Jacko and Rambo showed us exactly what we have been missing in our last 8 games, heart. These two dominated the United midfield, won every 50-50 ball, spread the ball, found their team mates, created chances and won every tackle. They just wanted it more and it showed. Wenger has been criticized for not bringing through any British talent but looks like our future midfield will have a very British flavour to it (and no not the regular British flavour of being bland either, but the good kind :D). Another point missed by the media,pundits and fans, still counter productive to ‘Wenger Out’ eh?

• Koscielny is a CB that excels when teams try to play on the ground. Manchester United tried to do that, Barca tried to do that and those were his two best games of the season till date. He loves to anticipate passes, break up the attack early and pressure the forward and not giving him any space. Its teams like Bolton, Blackburn, Stoke etc that play the ball over the top that causes him trouble as he moves in to press the ball, the striker turns on him and the simple ball over the top sees him out of place. One of the major reasons I think we need a CB in the summer, as Vermaelen is the same and when they both play together, we could be caught out bad, we need someone who can cover for his partner in such situations, someone who will stay back and read the play when Kos goes for the quick steal, as his instincts dictate. Kos can be an excellent backup for Vermaelen.

• Sagna has to be the most consistent right back in the country and possibly the world. He goes about his job so efficiently and without much fuss at all. He is very strong in the air for a full back, reads the play very well and comes in to clear a lot of chances, like the ones where United had a 4 on 3 break and the cut back from the byline was anticipated and cleared by him, saving a sure goal. He doesn’t speak much and is very humble and quiet about it as well, which makes him stand out, something the ‘creature’ in point #10 below can learn from.

• Once the tension and pressure of winning the league was lifted from this team, they produced one of their best displays on the season. Till we scored a goal, we totally dominated the game and were by far the better team. We let the pressure of winning the title and getting results show over the last month but yesterday, we just played football the way we wanted and it showed. Everyone was out there fighting for each other, playing for pride and enjoying their football and it was a treat to watch. This is yet another reason I think we need a couple of signings with experience in the summer (as Wenger has said himself) as they will have been there and dealt with certain tricky situations and can guide the team thru it.

• Evra is probably the only player on the planet that is a sore loser AND a sore winner. He clearly has a chip on his shoulder where Arsenal are concerned, maybe its because he is French and Wenger didn’t pick him once Cashley left, we will never know. But this guy really needs to shut his mouth. He is as retarded as he is a good left back. Needs to get over his insecurities in life else his career will ONLY be remembered for the antics with French National team and his obnoxious press conferences, guess he prefers that. Love the song the Gooners sing for him, if there is one word that can describe him, its in the song!