Showndown of the Arch-Rivals - Manchester United versus Arsenal
Written on April 13, 2008 – 3:12 pm | by Keith Neo
For the Gunners, it is a do-or-die situation. For the Red Devils, it is a matter of edging towards the finishing line at a faster pace or give itself the pleasure of torture. Today’s match kicked off at 1400hrs GMT at Old Trafford, where crafty Sir Alex Ferguson puts his wits against the wizardry Arsene Wenger - a clash of the two English arch rivals.
The top 4 teams each has 5 games left to be played. Manchester United currently sits on top of the Barclays Premiership Table with a three point cushion over second-place Chelsea. Arsenal is at third position, with another 3 points from Chelsea. Liverpool’s hope of clinching the Premiership title is very slim as it has a 14-point deficit from the leader. Hence, it is still a three-horse race.
Provided that Arsenal managed to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford, the game would almost end up very likely in a two-horse race between the latter and Chelsea. Arsene Wenger said,
“… It will be the greatest achievement of my career to win the Premier League now because we are swimming against the stream at the moment. For us the game on Sunday is the game of the season. If we do not win this game we have no chance. We will fight until the last second of the championship… “
In the previous encounter, the return of Wayne Rooney ensures the 4-0 win against Arsenal in the FA Cup. With both teams out of the oldest cup tournament, Sir Alex Ferguson will make use of his experience during the last encounter to win the match and severe Arsenal’s hope of winning a trophy this season.
With Arsenal being eliminated by Liverpool from the Champion League earlier this week, the team is highly focused on nothing except the English Premiership title. On the other hand, Manchester United left out their star-studded players - Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Scholes - yet managed to beat AS Roma convincingly. The class between the two teams is highly separated by the level of injuries that each team is currently facing.
Against Middlesbrough, the Red Devils dropped 2 points as they gave a lifeline hope to Chelsea and Arsenal last week. This week, Manchester United is unlikely to be any charitable in front of goal, as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo sets to start the match with a high-tempo pace.
Manchester United needs another 13 points to seal the title victory for this season. However, this isn’t going to be any easier for them, as they still need to travel to Stamford Bridge to meet Chelsea away. Said Sir Alex Ferguson of Arsenal’s defeat by Liverpool,
“… It’s hard to recover from these things. If we beat them, it makes it difficult for them, no question. It’s difficult anyway because they’re six points behind us and three points behind Chelsea. With five games to go there’s not a lot of leeway and they can’t afford to drop anything really. But we have got to look at ourselves and make sure we keep motoring. Every game is a must-win now. We dropped two points last week and we need to win our games, it’s as simple as that… “
This evening’s clash will see nothing but an extremely fast pace football match from both teams that play with beautiful attacking intent. Even if you are neither a fan of either club, it’ll still be a very much entertaining game to watch. The only thing that has been missing out so far, which has been so prominent and provocative over several years, are the words of psychological warfare between the two team managers.
My prediction of who will win the match? A draw is highly possible, but Manchester United is definitely favoured here.
