Manchester United vs Arsenal
FA Cup
Every Arsenal fan was looking forward to this long anticipated fixture, thinking it was going to be a walk in the park. United had lost the Manchester derby while Arsenal had beat Manchester City 3-1 at Manchester earlier this month, but oh boy were they wrong.
Having started Fletcher only further proved Sir Alex’s Genius. I doubt anyone had Darren Fletcher on their fantasy football team and he proved to be one of the most valuable players in this game
This was a great chance for Capello to scout some talent.
Early on Nani looked like he came to play, he had some great runs and it looked like he had plenty of confidence.
Man Utd had Arsenal on their heels since the first whistle was blown.
Arsenal couldn’t enter their attacking half with a controlled ball for the first 15 minutes of the game.
Man Utd took the lead in the 16th minute off a corner kick by Nani, which Vidic inadvertently lobbed back to Anderson, who put it back in the mix for Rooney who positioned himself perfectly just behind Hoyte and in front of Lehmann. Rooney anticipated and reacted lightning fast to put it past Lehman with a redirected header.
Arsenal players looked desperate after the first goal, and sure enough 3 minutes later United scored again. When Fabregas in a desperate attempt to get the ball off his feet put a sloppy ball across the middle. Rooney intercepted the pass with his chest at half field, turned and distributed to Anderson, who came running down the center of the field, who then swung the ball to the left side for Nani. Which showed great individual skill by beating Hoyte with a step over. All Fletcher had to do was step in front of Gallas and redirect it with his head. It sounds like Fletcher had it easy, but he did, because Gallas was just standing there waiting for the ball to get to his head.
20 minutes in Arsenal “the league leaders” were down 2-0
30 minutes into the game Arsenal still could not enter Man Utds half! It looked like Arsenal had never played together as a team, because there was no confidence between them. There were a number of times Arsenal had a teammate clearly open and would turn and look for another option. No one on Arsenal could connect a pass, or trap a pass for that matter. Every Arsenal player was flat footed while United players stepped in front of them to win every challenge. This was very evident in the 32nd minute as Evra stepped infront of Bendtner to not only win the ball but also put in a volley for Rooney who had a great break.
In the 38th minute Nani brings down a diagonal ball sent in brilliantly by Carrick from half field and fires left-footed past Lehmann. Nani made the perfect run right between Arsenals center defenders.
The first half was a disaster for Arsenal! Arsenals defense was flat, not executing the offside trap at all, and getting beat every way possible. United players were faking Arsenals defenders with step-overs and winning their backs on every run. Arsenals midfield was not maintaining possession of the ball and therefore not creating any kind of attack for the forwards.
Second Half
Early in the second half Eboue shows his frustration on Evra with a fierce challenge. And is red carded rightfully so.
Arsenal made it easy for United defenders. Arsenal resorted to a long ball game, after not being able to penetrate. Everyone knows it’s much easier to have the ball come toward you when you’re facing it and running onto it. United defenders would see the ball coming in and would either play it up line or play it wide and continue the attack all over again.
Man Utds forwards and midfielders were making run after run exposing and taking advantage of Arsenals weakest two defenders Traore and Hoyte.
In the 62nd minute Rooney missed yet another breakaway. Today it didn’t prove costly, but I don’t doubt it will in the future.
Rooney is a good forward, but not a great forward. Why?
Because he makes the great runs and CREATES great opportunities. He puts himself in a position where he gets 2 or 3 breakaways a game, BUT that’s only half of what it takes to be a great forward. He has got to finish.
Don’t get me wrong, I really like Rooney. I like his heart and relentless determination, but the boys got to finish!
For Uniteds 4th goal Nani officially owned Hoyte.
Hoyte should have sat down and subbed himself out after Nani broke his ankles for the 23432532 time. Nani then crossed from the left to the backside, where Fletcher powered a header that bounced of Lehmanns palms into the top of the net.
Nani was in brilliant form and showboated by juggling up to 8 times and infuriating Arsenal. Hoyte tried and failed to kick Nani’s ankles before Flamini came in attempting to slide tackle in a very dangerous and reckless way.
A minute after Nani’s showboating, Gallas intentionally kicked Nani’s ankles well after the ball was cleared and Nani returning to defend. This only led to a face to face confrontation between the two, which Gilberto stepped in and separated
My thoughts are that when a team plays as well as Man Utd did, Players are entitled to show off a little and display some skill. They’ve earned it. Its players like Nani and Ronaldo who make the game beautiful and entertaining to watch.
