Arsenal vs. Manchester United: Match Review

Match Preview

Arsenal came from behind twice to secure a vital point at home to Manchester United in one of the most dramatic finishes of this Premier League season.

A Wayne Rooney goal in first half added-time (deflected in by William Gallas) gave United the lead going into half time, but Cesc Fabregas equalized after only three minutes in the forty-eighth. Cristiano Ronaldo then put the Reds ahead for the second time of the night in the 82nd minute, but just as United looked to have secured a win William Gallas scored Arsenal's second to keep the Gunners unbeaten record intact.

Arsene Wenger's squad maintains its position at the top of the Premiership by only the narrowest of margins, tied with United on points and goal differential. Only goals scored separates the two sides, although Arsenal have a game in hand.

Lineups:
Arsenal: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna, William Gallas, Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy; Emmanuel Eboue, Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini, Tomas Rosicky; Alex Hleb; Emmanuel Adebayor

Manchester United: Edwin van der Sar; Wes Brown, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic; Oliveira Anderson, Ryan Giggs, Owen Hargreaves, Cristiano Ronaldo; Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney

Despite a first half nearly devoid of shots on target, the match started brightly (as is to be expected in a top-of-the-table clash).

Wenger's Gunners displayed some of their excellent one-touch football while Ferguson's United gave them little space.

United had the first good chance of the half on eight minutes when Cristiano Ronaldo saw a header come off the post. The goal would have been disallowed either way though, as referee Howard Webb called him for a push on Tomas Rosicky.

Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor then had a chance from a similar position in the other half of the field, but completely mistimed his jump after a perfectly timed run met a cross from Gael Clichy. His disappointing header soared well over van der Sar's crossbar.

Ryan Giggs had a great chance following a fast break in the sixteenth minute, but the veteran midfielder could only stab the ball wide from a yard out, keeping the game level.

With ten minutes to go until half time, Arsenal finally tested Edwin van der Sar for the first time. A well taken free kick from Cesc Fabregas was headed downward by William Gallas only to be impressively saved by the trailing legs of the Manchester United goalie.

It was United who managed to grab the first goal though, when Wayne Rooney's shot deflected of of William Gallas into the goal from a few yards out after a low cross from Cristiano Ronaldo.

United were not ahead for long. Only three minutes into the second half, Fabregas grabbed his sixth league goal of the season to bring Arsenal level. A volley from Adebayor was saved by Edwin van der Sar, but the loose ball fell to Bacary Sagna who teed up the Spaniard who fired home from twelve yards.

The goal gave Arsenal some impetus, and for the first time in the game a team was able to sustain pressure for a fairly long period of time. However, the Gunners were only able to test van der Sar once before a United counterattack, as Cesc Fabregas hit a free kick under the wall, only for the United goalie to make a comfortable save.

Ryan Giggs then found Rooney in the box, but the forward's powered header went well off target.

Alex Hleb was the next man to miss the target. Emmanuel Eboue fed the Belarus international, but the Arsenal midfielder took one too many touches before sending the ball wide with his left foot.

Ronaldo then scored United's second, following some poor decision making from Manuel Almunia. The keeper came out to dispossess Patrice Evra on the side of the eighteen yard box, only for the French defender to unsurprisingly cut the ball back to the center. Cristiano Ronaldo easily swept the ball up into the empty net, leaving the Arsenal players dejected.

The fans got behind their team though, and their patience almost paid off when Evra botched a clearance, hitting his own post before nervously laughing off his mistake with Edwin van der Sar.
The Gunner's spirit prevailed though, and Arsenal were able to bring one back during stoppage time to stay undefeated league leaders. William Gallas shot at a congested goal, and Edwin van der Sar palmed the ball away - from behind the goal line. The ball was correctly ruled a goal as Arsenal made a dramatic comeback.

If this game doesn't prove that Arsenal have a title chance, I don't know what could.

Arsenal Rumors: Hoyte and Jaaskelainen

Arsenal's young right-back Justin Hoyte is reportedly being targeted for a loan move by both Everton and Charlton. However, Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has already firmly stated that the right-back will not go out on loan this season.

Everton, who have a strong defensive lineup already, would want the 22 year-old to replace Joseph Yobo who will miss parts of January and February due to the African Cup of Nations.

Alan Pardew on the other hand simply wants to bolster the Charlton defense, and sees the Arsenal right-back as the right man for the job.

Other rumors link Arsenal to Bolton Wanderer's goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. With Jens Lehmann's dip in form, Arsene Wenger has been relying on Manuel Almunia to tend the goal, but the Spaniard does not have the quality that a top team like Arsenal requires.

Jaaskelainen's contract with Bolton runs out in the Summer, and as the team are currently in the relegation zone, it seems unlikely that he would sign an extension. The price in January, therefore, would be quite cheap, and Jaaskelainen would be a great addition to Arsenal's squad, at least until Fabianski is old enough to wear the number one jersey.

Arsenal vs. Manchester United: Match Preview

Match Review

The Premier League's top two title challengers are set to battle it out at the Emirates this Saturday in what is sure to be one of the most exciting fixtures of the season. Arsene Wenger's first-placed Arsenal team is even on points and goal differential with Alex Ferguson's Manchester United, and both teams are in fine veins of form.

The winner of this game (if there is one) will go clear at the top of the Premier League, and this game could be one of the biggest factors in Arsenal's title aspirations. The title is, of course, not purely dependent on top four games, as Arsenal completed the double against last season's champions.

Both teams will be confident coming into the match. Arsenal are unbeaten this season, having drawn their last Premiership game 1-1 at Anfield in an impressive performance. Arsenal have yet to drop points at the Emirates and a 3-0 midweek win over Sheffield United in the Carling Cup will also bring confidence to any Arsenal youngsters who may play on Saturday.

Manchester United started the season badly, drawing twice and losing once in their first three games of the Premier League season. However, things have picked up for the Reds, and Alex Ferguson's team have won the eight games since their loss at rivals Manchester City. Although they were dumped out of the Carling Cup, the side won last Saturday's game 4-1 against Middlesbrough.

However, United will have some injuries to deal with. While Arsenal are missing only Robin van Persie and Philippe Senderos, Manchester United will be missing a contingent of six players. Crucially, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, and Ji-Sung Park are all injured, meaning that Manchester United will be light in the midfield. Also missing are Louis Saha, Mikael Silvestre, and second goalie Ben Foster.

Arsenal will once again have Manuel Almunia in goal, with Jens Lehmann looking as though his time as Arsenal's number one is over.

In front of him will most likely be the familiar back-four of Bacary Sagna, Kolo Toure, William Gallas, and Gael Clichy.

Our defensive lineup will be quite stretched against United, with Rooney, Tevez, and Ronaldo being the main threats up front for the visiting team. Clichy and Sagna may have to limit their runs into the attacking third on account of Ronaldo's pace, and although our entire back line is fairly pacy, they may have trouble dealing with the Portuguese winger.

The most likely midfield setup (and in my opinion the best) would be Alex Hleb, Mathieu Flamini, Cesc Fabregas, and Tomas Rosicky. However, Arsene Wenger has been favoring Eboue in the midfield, and if we go with a 4-5-1 the Ivorian could play on the right wing, with Hleb being moved into the hole behind a lone Adebayor.

Another possibility is Gilberto's inclusion. Wenger was very complimentary of his performance against Sheffield United in the Carling Cup, and he may play despite Mathieu Flamini's impressive form.

Up front I would like to see Theo Walcott alongside Emmanuel Adebayor. The English teenager registered an incredible performance against Sheffield on Wednesday, making some amazing runs despite not managing a goal. Walcott is a good finisher, and could turn provider for Adebayor or any of the Arsenal midfielders.

Eduardo is another option, and his brace at Bramall Lane on Wednesday will make him a strong contender to start the match as well. The Croatian striker is an excellent finisher and could provide the deadly edge that Adebayor has been lacking in his past few matches.

In any case though, Adebayor is almost certain to start up front, whether it is on his own or alongside Walcott or Eduardo.

This match will be a difficult but entertaining one, with the two sides widely regarded as the best creative attacking teams in the Premiership. Arsenal's one-touch football should dominate the makeshift United midfield, but last year's champions will have dangerous chances on free kicks as many of their players are good in the air.

In the attacking third our forwards will not be winning many headers (due to the impressive presences of Ferdinand and Vidic) so we will have to do the usual ground-based passing that Arsenal is so well known for.

If we can silence Cristiano Ronaldo we should be able to scrape through with a win, so hopefully Flamini's work-rate will combine with the skill of our back four to keep the winger at bay. If we manage to do that, I think we can come out 2-1 winners in this important match.

Sheffield United vs. Arsenal: Match Review

Match Preview

Arsenal's youngsters came out 3-0 winners at Bramall Lane, following an impressive performance from the club's up-and-coming stars. A brace from Eduardo and a goal from Neves Denilson wrapped up a Carling Cup game which had been completely one-sided.

Arsenal had sixteen shots to United's six, and had an equally lopsided share of possession, controlling the ball for no less than 68% of the game.

The Gunners have booked themselves a berth in the next round of the competition where they could end up playing the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Everton, or cross-town rivals Tottenham.

Lineups:
Arsenal: Lukasz Fabianski; Justin Hoyte, Alex Song, Kieran Gibbs, Lassana Diarra; Neves Denilson, Gilberto Silva, Abou Diaby; Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo da Silva, Theo Walcott

Sheffield United: Ian Bennett; Chris Armstrong, Leigh Bromby, Chris Lucketti, Chris Morgan; David Carney, Nick Montgomery, Steven Quinn, Michael Tonge; Billy Sharp, Jonathan Stead

The first five minutes of the game started relatively slowly, with neither side troubling the other's goalkeeper. That all changed, though, as Nicklas Bendtner played Eduardo into the box in the eighth minute.

The Croatian goal machine launched an unstoppable drive into Bennett's top left corner, showing some of the finishing that prompted Arsene Wenger to pick him up in the Summer.

Arsenal almost picked up a second soon after when Theo Walcott passed to Nicklas Bendtner who teed up the ball for Denilson. The Brazilian midfielder completely botched his shot though, sending the ball into the stands.

Lukasz Fabianski was rarely troubled in goal, but the young Polish keeper looked less than convincing as he punched at a ball that it seemed he could easily have caught. Nonetheless, the Blades couldn't put one past the Pole, and it was once again Arsenal who were the biggest threat in the second half.

Some slack defending was taken advantage of by the young Kieran Gibbs who's splitting pass fell perfectly into the path of Eduardo. The Croatian striker once again finished clinically, putting Arsenal 2-0 ahead after fifty minutes.

Theo Walcott almost grabbed a goal when his pace took him around Bennett, but the young England international could only hit the post from a tight angle.

It wouldn't be too long before Arsenal's third though, as Denilson made up for his earlier mistake, scoring from 25 yards out. The shot took a deflection and looped over the head of Bennett who could only look on in horror as Arsenal hit the back of the net for the last time of the night in the sixty-ninth minute.

Arsenal still pressed forwards and Eduardo was denied a hattrick by Bennett before being taken off in favor of Nacer Barazite. Henri Lansbury and Fran Merida also came on as late substitutes but the game was already over as the current table-toppers put away Sheffield United's Carling Cup hopes.

Will Gilberto Leave Arsenal in January?

Gilberto Silva, one of Arsenal's vice-captains, has been strongly linked with a move to Italian giants Juventus. The holding midfielder, who is one of the few Arsenal players left from the club's 'invincible' season, has been kept out of the team for a large part of this season due to the recent form of 23 year-old Frenchman Mathieu Flamini.

The Brazil captain has been linked to both Juventus and Valencia, and was Arsene Wenger recently stated that he would be playing in Wednesday's Carling Cup clash with Sheffield United, further inciting departure rumors.

The competition is generally used by Premiership managers as a training ground for fringe, youth, and squad players, and Gilberto will be disappointed to fit into any of those categories. The Brazilian was Arsenal's interim captain while Thierry Henry was injured, and looked a strong candidate to receive the captains armband this year with the prolific Frenchman's departure to Barcelona.

However, the captaincy was given to William Gallas, and a loss of form after international duty with Brazil at the Copa America saw Gilberto miss the first few games. During those games, Mathieu Flamini asserted himself, registering some impressive performances, and although Gilberto did feature in Arsenal's side after his return, his performances were not of the caliber normally associated with the Brazil captain.

At 31 years of age, the player is far older than most of the players in the Arsenal squad and he must be getting nervous about Arsene Wenger's policy of phasing out older players.

While Gilberto will be looking to pick up one last Premier League medal with Arsenal this season, he may leave in favor of guaranteed playing time if offered a decent deal in January.

Personally, while I know that Gilberto has quality and experience, he is on his way out and I'd hate to see him spend a fruitless season and then sell for less (like Henry did before him). If Flamini can keep up his form, we won't need Gilberto any more, especially considering that we have Neves Denilson and Lassana Diarra, two up-and-coming holding midfielders.

I hate to say it since he has served our club so well, but if we get a good offer I'd like to see Gilberto gone sooner rather than later.

Gilberto in for Carling Cup Match

Brazil Captain Gilberto Silva will be in Arsene Wenger's starting line up for Wednesday's game against Sheffield United. The media had claimed that Arsenal's defensive midfielder would not be playing following a bust-up with the Arsenal manager were denied by Wenger.

"I deny that categorically, and I find this assessment disrespectful to a great professional like Gilberto," said Wenger. "He is 100 per cent professional and is in the squad for tomorrow. He will play.

"I believe that as a manager and as a player you always have one thing in your mind and that is what is good for the club and the team. I cannot fault Gilberto on that since he arrived here.

"Recently he has played less, but his mentality has been superb. It is important to win every single competition and in this one I use younger players because traditionally it has always been like that. It has helped us a lot to develop the players."

Arsenal's vice-captain, who has been linked with a move away from the Emirates, will be pleased to get some playing time, but will be disappointed that he can only play in the Carling Cup - a cup usually reserved for squad players and youngsters.

Other players who may feature tomorrow at Bramall Lane include Justin Hoyte, Alex Song, Theo Walcott, and Eduardo da Silva. Personally I would rather see Walcott rested for a start against Manchester United on Saturday, but I'm not the manager, and we'll see how Wenger handles the situation. For now, the Arsenal manager has only provisionally mentioned a few players who may feature.

"You could see Justin Hoyte and Song," he said. "Walcott maybe and Eduardo will play. We will need a strong squad up there."

Click here for a full preview of the Sheffield United vs. Arsenal match

Sheffield United vs. Arsenal: Match Preview

Premier League leaders Arsenal take on the Championships nineteenth placed team, Sheffield United, this Wednesday in the fourth round of the Carling Cup. The Premiership giants were lucky to avoid drawing against the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea, but the Blades will not be nearly so happy to have to face Arsenal.

Arsenal played twice against United during the Blades brief one season stint in the Premiership, and while Arsenal demolished United 3-0 at the Emirates, the Blades will take some solace in the fact that they were able to defeat Arsenal 1-0 at Bramall Lane - the locale of Wednesday's fixture.

On current form though, Arsenal are far superior. Arsenal's first team is on a run of unbeaten games dating back to last April against West Ham. This season, Arsene Wenger's young guns went on a streak of twelve straight wins which was broken on Sunday in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield. Arsenal are at the head of the Premiership table with eight wins, two draws, and no losses so far this season.

Sheffield are not faring nearly as well in their return to the Championship. The Blades have won only three of their thirteen games this season, the other ten consisting of five draws and an equal number of losses. United have conceded twenty-one goals this season, the second highest in the Championship, and will have to play extremely well to defeat Arsenal's young side.

Sheffield United will be given some encouragement by the fact that Arsene Wenger always plays young sides in the Carling Cup, but Arsenal's youngsters are as good as any team outside the top four, as seen in 3-1 and 6-3 victories over Liverpool last season.

This season, Arsenal's young players have managed to defeat Newcastle 2-0 in the Carling Cup third round, following impressive periods of dominance from the young gunners.

Wenger will most likely field a lineup completely different from the one which played against Newcastle, due to injuries to Philippe Senderos and Eduardo da Silva. Emmanuel Eboue is also unlikely to play on Wednesday, although he may be injected into Arsenal's depleted defense.

Lukasz Fabianksi will almost surely start in goal, as Arsene Wenger is keen on giving the promising youngster a few starts this season.

In front of the Pole will most likely be Justin Hoyte, Alex Song, Armand Traore, and Kolo Toure. Toure may have to feature in the place of the injured Philippe Senderos, although Arsene Wenger may choose to play Lassana Diarra in the defense as well. Because of the Senderos injury, Wenger may even choose to give promising young Norwegian Havard Nordtveit his senior Arsenal debut.

In the midfield Neves Denilson will likely play alongside Abou Diaby. Depending on how much Arsene Wenger trusts his youth, these two could be complimented by any number of their peers. I would love to see Kieran Gibbs and Fran Merida or even Henri Lansbury or Mark Randall feature, but I feel that Wenger will be keen on making it through to the next round so his young players can get some more experience. For that reason, the likes of Mathieu Flamini or even Gilberto may be brought in to add some experience to the young Arsenal side.

Up front, Arsene Wenger's obvious choice would be to start Nicklas Bendtner alongside the electric Theo Walcott. Walcott could soon break into the Arsenal first team following his impressive performance in the 7-0 drubbing of Slavia Prague. If he can play well on Wednesday he may even start against Manchester United next Saturday instead of leaving Emmanuel Adebayor as the lone striker.

With an impressive midfield and attacking lineup, I can't see Arsenal losing this game. I'm not going to predict any scores because they could vary greatly depending on the team that Arsene Wenger decides to field, but I think it is safe to say that Arsenal are heavy favorites in this fixture and it would be very disheartening to see them drop out at this stage of the competition.

I would be disappointed by anything less than a comprehensive victory.