Manchester United v Arsenal – Sunday 28th August – Old Trafford (18:00)
Arsenal Vs Manchester United
With the English league in full flight, the early season fixture list has thrown up a mouth watering contest between two powerhouses of English football. This encounter is not for the feint hearted as controversy is always beckoning when these two go head-to-head.
Manchester United have got a 100% record thus far as they demolished Tottenham Hotspurs 3-0. Sir Alex Ferguson put faith in his youngsters and they rewarded him with a five star performance with Danny Welbeck the star of the show. Alex Ferguson was pleased to get off to a winning start but had to deal with some disturbing and unfortunate incidents as both his influential Captain Nemanja Vidić as well as partner in crime Rio Ferdinand both stumbled off with serious injuries and look to be sidelined for 5-6 weeks. Sir Alex will look to his youth to fill the gaps of these highly rated centre backs and the likes of Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and new boy Phil Jones will all be in contention to prove that they are ready to step up to the plate. Sir Alex knows that United will have to be at their best to overcome their old foes and title rivals.
Arsenal have all sort of problems as they have made their worst start to a season in the past decade. Arsenal lie in a dismal 15th spot, recording a single point in their first two opening games. They were defeated by Liverpool last week by 2-0 and this just added to under pressure Manager Arsene Wenger’s woes. The Frenchmen was jeered by the fans and were calling for the manager to “open the cheque book”. Arsenal have been hit by a heavy Injury crisis as Johan Djourou, Kieran Gibbs and now the latest inclusion Laurent Koscielny have all joined the likes of Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky in the treatment room and Arsene Wenger will now be forced to dive into the transfer market and make the required signings before the close. Arsenal will be without their three African players as Alex Song, Gervinho and more recent Emmanuel Frimpong are all serving suspensions and Wenger will look to Welsh Captain Aaron Ramsey to fill the defensive midfield spot. Former Arsenal Manager George Graham has recently called for Arsene Wenger to bring in reinforcement before the window closes or face the consequence of a meltdown and ultimately the loss of his 15 year reign as Arsenal manager.
These two teams always give a spectacular encounter whenever they meet. Both teams have their own personal problems and a win in this match will go a long way in boosting confidence. These two should cancel each other out and play to a draw.
