Well, That Was Easy

Manchester United 2 - Arsenal 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Van Persie (3), Evra (67)
Arsenal: Cazorla (90)

Red Card
Arsenal: Wilshere (69)

Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Rafael, EVra, Carrick, Cleverley (Anderson 61), Valencia (Nani 82), Young, Rooney, Van Persie

Many of us would have expected a tougher run out this time round after that 8-2 drubbing here last season, but in many aspects, this game was much easier than the previous one. We had a relatively easier time and it wasn't because our defence improved by leaps and bounds, Arsenal was just utterly worthless on the pitch.

We basically had our way with them throughout the entire 90 minutes. Right from the kickoff, we were the better team by a long long shot and created chance after chance, almost at will. Van Persie gave us an early lead and we never looked back.

Although we practically dominated the game for it's entirety, given our defensive frailties, it just never felt comfortable. Rooney had a chance to put the game away from the spot, but he missed the target. That miss makes it 4 misses from the last 5 spot kicks.

Credit to the lads, we just kept on plugging and Evra gave us the cushion we so badly wanted with a header in the 67 minute. Arsenal's woes were further compounded when Wilshere was given his marching order with a bad tackle just a couple of minutes later.

Cazorla gave the result some semblance of respectability with a goal from virtually the last kick of the game. Arsenal was ridiculously poor and we failed to properly punish them. At least the result and the way we played would give the team a confidence boost in the next few away fixtures.

United Rips Arsenal A New One

Manchester United 8 - Arsenal 2
Scorer
Manchester United: Welbeck (22), Young (28, 90), Rooney (41, 64, pen 82), Nani (67), Park (70)
Arsenal: Walcott (45), Van Persie (74)


Red Card
Arsenal: Jenkinson (77)


Team: De Gea, Jones, Evans, Smalling, Evra, Anderson (Giggs 68), Cleverley, Nani (Park 68), Young, Rooney, Welbeck (Hernandez 36)


My word, we really gave it to the Gunners in the worst way possible just to pound on their already troubled start to the league. For a moment there I actually felt sorry for Wenger, but after a few drinks (ok, drank more that I can remember) while watching the game with some friends, I think he fully deserves all the trouble he's in for with his fans. The squad is dire and in need of fresh faces, especially after losing two of their most important players, and Wenger still stubbornly refuses to pay above valuation for players. The economist in him must give way to the manger that is in dire need of help.

We couldn't have asked for better motivation when earlier Shitty gave it to another London team, Spurs, a good hiding. Knowing that we needed to beat Arsenal by a 5 goal margin to claim top spot, the lads came out of the dressing room fired up and were all into the gunners. The first goal took awhile but when Anderson's lob ball over the tentative Arsenal defense who failed to clear, Welbeck needed no second invitation to head the ball over the keeper (I refuse to spell that impossible name).

Arsenal almost replied with a weak penalty when Walcott was seemingly tripped in the box by Evans. The referee didn't give it but the fucking useless linesman flagged for it instead. If the award of the penalty was weak, Van Persie's spot kick was even worse. De Gea dived the right way and push it out for a corner. How they missed Fabregas.

Immediately from the counter, Young found himself in yards of space and curled a wonderful ball beyond he-who-shall-not-be-named's outstretched arms.

Rooney helped himself to a third with a carefully placed freekick. By this time, we were looking dandy and threatening to run riot against an Arsenal team who have yet to know the first names of the players beside them.

But as it is with United, complacency crepted in and we failed to clear our lines in the last minute of the first half and Walcott pounced on the chance to whip on back for the Gunners. An unlikely fightback seemed on the cards if we continued to give them space and time.

These days United are made of sterner stuff. We came out of the dressing room determined to make up the goal difference that Shitty has built on us and piled on the pressure. It's been a long long time since we've played this well. Like the first half it took awhile before we got on the scoresheet again and once again it was a well-worked freekick from Rooney that left he-has-an-impossible-name-to-spell stranded.

United were flying. Nani added a fifth, and his replacement, Park, scored a sixth. Van Persie did get on the score sheet but it was really one-way traffic.

The last ten minutes saw United compounding on Arsenal's troubles as they had yet another player sent off. Rooney completed his hattrick from the spot when Evra was crudely fouled in the area. Young completed the demolition with another curler in the dying seconds.

I honestly can't remember United domination proceedings in such from start to finish. Even in the 9-0 Ispwich game or the 8-1 against Forest, there were pockets of resistence. This one was completely one-sided.

The Anderson and Cleverley midfield is possible one of the best I've seen in a long long long time. They seem to work well with one another and are very positive with the ball, constantly pushing it forward. Honestly, if they don't face a burn out anytime this season, I simply cannot see Carrick getting into the team again. But it's a long season and they are young players playing in a position that wears you down and at some point in time, I believe it will get to them.

Even Welback leaving the pitch in the first half with what I believe is a hamstring problem isn't a huge miss. I mean it's sad to see him go off in such fashion, but we didn't miss a beat with Hernandez coming on. And we have able replacements with Berbatov and Owen still in the wings, not to mention Macheda and Diouf even further behind the packing order.


This team is just so deep that 3 of our back four aren't supposed to be in the first team, but they damn well are playing like they've been there all their lives. Said this before, say it again, they are still very young and will get their rest when the 'big guns' return. As of now, they are getting some insane experience playing for a winning team.

Bloody hell, since I'm still abit drunk, might as well put this down in writing. Take away Messi, I think we're right up there with Barcelona!

It's Going Down The Wire

Arsenal 1 - Manchester United 0
Scorer
Arsenal: Ramsey (56)


Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Fabio, Evra, Carrick (Owen 85), Anderson (Valencia 56), Park, Nani, Rooney, Hernandez (Berbatov 74)

Well, I suppose it all boils down to next week's game against Chelsea. Once again we cannot produce away from home.

But let's not take credit away from Arsenal. They played a really good game. For the first 25 or so minutes, it looked like they were going to run away with the game, just like they have been doing all season. The problem with Arsenal is that they love to pass the ball. It's almost they are in love with the idea of passing the ball and totally forgetting that the whole point of it is to put it into the back of the net. They simply refuse to shoot unless it's a pass into the net.

For all the possession, I didn't think they had a shot on target in the first half and we went into the break deadlocked.

The second half was slightly better from us, but it was Arsenal who struck first blood. A lack of concentration at the back allowed Van Persie to wigggle his way and find Ramsey for the smart finish. Ferguson threw on the big guns but we never looked like scoring.

So it seems that next week's game at Old Trafford is what this season is all about. Win it and we're almost sure of crossing the finish line. Lose it and we're set for a nervous end to the season.

Kicking Arsenal Out Of The FA Cup

Manchester United 2 - Arsenal 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Fabio (28), Rooney (49)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Smalling, Brown, Evra (Scholes 80), O'Shea, Gibson, Rafael (Giggs 63), Fabio (Valencia 46), Rooney, Hernandez

Both teams where pretty much down in the dumps, affected by bad results recently and injuries. We just had consecutive losses to Chelsea and Liverpool, while Arsenal self-destructed in the Carling Cup finals and were harshly dumped from the Champions League competition by a Martin Atkinson-like referee.

With injuries playing a big part to both managers' selections, it was Ferguson's gimmicky lineup that won the day, to make it a hattrick of competitions that Arsenal were dumped out of. The porn brothers were wonderful make-shift wingers. Their energy, enthusiasm and can-do spirit was a breath of fresh air from Carrick's square passes and hopeless running. Together with Rooney, O'Shea and even Gibson, they formed a formidable 5-man midfield that was able to catch Arsenal twice on the counter-attack, resulting in the first goal.

Valencia replaced Fabio at the half and proceeded to help set up the second and another sweeping move that dumbfounded the Arsenal defense. Arsenal too had their chances, but were foiled by the brilliant Van der Sar. Almunia had his moments too, making a number of incredible saves to keep the contest interesting.

The spectacle was marred by a lengthy injury to Djourou. And in a longer than normal injury time, Scholes tried to his best to get a red card but the referee refused to indulge him.

Overall it was a really good game and a really good result. Rafael and Fabio were exceptional and the return of Valencia might just mean that Nani's injury against Liverpool would not be such a huge miss. Most important of all, Ferguson probably learnt that we can not only survive without Michael fucking Carrick, but we were actually striving.

Park Takes United Back To The Top

Manchester United 1 - Arsenal 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Park (41)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson (Giggs 85), Park, Nani, Rooney

Mesmerizing game, brilliant result. Going to do a really short one here. It's 6am in the morning and I haven't slept a wink for quite sometime.

- We completely dominated the first half. Arsenal were chasing shadows for most part of the game.

- The five men midfield total controlled the ball and kept Arsenal from playing their usual game. Park, Anderson and Nani were particularly effective. The downside with 5 in midfield was that besides Rooney, no one else was in the box when the crosses came in.

- On the occasion where Park got into the box, we scored. Good goal, highly difficult to direct the deflected cross into the box.

- The defense was immense. The Rio and Vidic partnership kept the Gunners firing blanks. Evra was at the end of some poor challenges, probably due to his unfriendly comments in midweek. Rafael is slowly but surely making his mark. Defensively, this is probably Rafael's best game.

- Rooney missed a penalty around the 70th odd minute. He could have sealed the game but blasted the spot kick way over the bar. Personally I'm glad he missed and we still won. His body language was very Berbatovish. While he did run his socks off, he was also guilty of berating his teammates frequently for not finding him.

- Particularly impressed with the bench and Berbatov. Berbatov should have felt hard done by, especially after the kind of form he's showed, but instead of sulking on the bench, he was intensely following the team on the pitch and focusing. In fact all the bench players were intensely concentrating on the game which is a good sign. It shows that everyone is ready and focused when called upon by the manager.

- I've already mentioned Anderson, but am going to do it again. He was just absolutely brilliant once again. He ran so hard up and down the pitch that by the time Giggs came on to replace him, he barely had the strength to walk off. His fitness still needs abit of work, but my word, he's been the best player on the pitch the last 3 times he's on it.

- 3 points clear at the top of the table and the team is coming together and playing some really good football. Next week we face a back-against-the-wall Chelsea, who is rapidly going in the opposite direction after an incredible start to the season. Potentially this one could get really ugly for us. Chelsea needs a win in the worst way possible and they are finally getting their best players back in the shape of Lampard, Terry and Essien. As always, let's enjoy the win and let next week worry about itself

United Brushes Off The Gooners

Arsenal 1 - Manchester United 3
Scorers
Arsenal: Vermaelen (80)
Manchester United: Almunia (33 og), Rooney (37), Park (52)

Team: Van der Sar, Evans, Brown, Rafael, Evra, Scholes (Giggs 71), Carrick, Fletcher, Park (Valencia 87), Nani (Berbatov 89), Rooney

Awesome display by Nani and Rooney. Against a fierce rival, we've finally shown our teeth. We've been playing rather well lately, and all thanks to the scoring prowess of Rooney, who notched his 100th league goal, and the emergence of Nani who is finally being appreciated on the right flank.

The first goal was all good work done by Nani, showing his silky skills and evading 3 Gooners before floating a ball that Almunia could only palm into his own net. The goal was nothing really to crow about, but Nani's work before it was simply superb.

A quick counter minutes later saw Rooney hit a century, again superb work from Nani leading the charge.

Arsenal's meek response were long range efforts from their best player on the pitch, Febregas.

In the second half, United increased the lead with another brilliant individual effort from Park. Fletcher released Park and he ran the length of the pitch before scoring. Arsenal were rocked.

United carried on with the counter attack policy with Rooney and Nani running riot, but were unable to add to the scoreline. Arsenal did pull one back via Vermaelen, but it was too little too late.

It was a brilliant performance by the men in black. Rooney reached a milestone and Nani is proving that he has a huge part to play, having finally found his place on the right wing. It that remains to be seen is if Ferguson will continue to keep faith in Nani and stop jerking him around by playing him out of position.

Arsenal Gifts United 3 Points

Manchester United 2 - Arsenal 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Rooney (pen 59), Diaby (og 65)
Arsenal: Arshavin (40)

Team: Foster, Brown, Vidic, O'Shea, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Valencia (Park 63), Nani, Giggs (Berbatov 86), Rooney

My word, that was one lucky win. Arsenal were all over us from the start and really were the better team on the day. Only god know how they let us back into the game and eventually lost it in 7 crazy minutes in the second half.

The starting lineup spelt a totally defeatist attitude. Ferguson opted to play Rooney upfront along with Giggs and, Nani and Valencia on the wings, as support. For the uninitiated, you would think we were playing at the Emirates instead of Old Trafford. It was conservative and more important, showed the lack of confidence of the manager in his strikeforce.

The game went according to how the managed planned it. We were under constant threat from the very mobile Arsenal forwards, and only desperate defending and lucky deflections keep the scoreline at 0-0. Our passing was utterly horrible, giving the ball away again and again, putting pressure on the defence. How players like Carrick still manage to get into the team is a mystery for the the Hardy Boys to solve. Giggs and Fletcher were no better at passing either. But in their defence, they made plenty of effort to win the ball back. In fact, Fletcher was the ultimate destroyer. He was Keano in that department.

True to the way the game was going, Arsenal took the lead via an outstanding long-ranged thunderbolt from Arshavin. Had Foster been a split-second faster, he might have saved it, instead he only fractionally got a finger on it as it burst into the net.

Foster, however, made amends early in the second half, instinctively sticking out a leg to save a point blank shot from Van Persie. Arsenal were all over United at that point in time and made for terrible viewing for us, United fans.

Yet against the run of play, Giggs supplied a beautiful angled pass that Rooney latched onto. One on one with the keeper, Almunia brought Rooney down resulting in a penalty. This time Rooney stepped up instead of Carrick and sent Almunia the wrong way, and United the right way.

7 minutes later United got the second. Giggs' freekick from the right was header into his own net by Diaby. Diaby was under no pressure but yet his wayward header fooled Almunia and flew straight into the net.

The game threatened to explode into more goals but neither team had their scoring boots on and good chances were missed on both sides. Van Persie did put the ball into the net 5 minutes into injury time but one of his teammates was caught offside in the preceding play. Wenger was sent to the stand for probably saying something or kicking someone and the whole incident took up all the time that was left on the clock, saving us a few more heart-stopping seconds.

On the final analysis, we were frankly rubbish for large portions of the game. We were sloppy in possession and our passing on the day was simply abysmal. Possibly only Fletcher shone as our only outstanding player. His passing still leaves alot to be desired, but his industry and tackling is top-notched.

Next week is the international weekend and we only get to play high-flying Spurs in a fortnight. It's probably a good thing, we need plenty of time to work things out. Despite winning 3 games, there are plenty of aspects about our play that needs to be worked on and a short break, even this early in the season might just do us some good and give us time to reflect on our mistakes.

The Celebrations Really Start Next Week

Manchester United 0 - Arsenal 0

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher, Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney (Anderson 90), Tevez (Park 67)

It's amazing just how far we've come. Back in the distant 80s, we were pretty much a midtable club, occasionally giving Liverpuss fits when we played them. Unfortunately, our seasons then were really made of those two home-away fixtures year in year out. We never never able to sustain the momentum for any stretch. The only thing that kept it from being as poor a decade as the 70s were the FA Cup triumphs. For a good long stretch in time, it looked like we were forever mired in mediocracy until Ferguson happened.

Even under him, we were pretty crap for the first few lean years. In fact, as far as rumours go, he was reportedly on the chopping block until a FA Cup win saved his career and set us on a giddy journey of utterly and almost complete dominance. Our run has been so good that we've now drawn level on titles with Liverpuss, a scenerio even the best fantasy writers would have found far-fetched. Yet we created fantasy.

I sincerely hope that, now we're sharing that perch with Liverpuss, I would be writing about how we shoved/bullied/kicked them off that perch this time next year.

As for the title clinching game against Arsenal, there's really nothing much to write about. We were clearly playing not to lose and so were Arsenal. As boring as the game was, the result suited both sides. Arsenal were out to prove that they were not that far inferior to us, while we simply needed the point to seal the deal. It worked out well for both managers and both sets of players, without the need to embarrass anyone.

In a discussion with Michael this morning during my weekly football game, we concluded that the celebrations really should start next week when we put out a shadow team and gift the game to Hull City. Besides defending the Champions League, sending the Barcodes down would really sum up an incredibly good season. Ideally, Liverpuss or Spurs going down would be my dream come true, but having us lend a hand to help shove Newcastle down would be just as sweet.

Last but not least, I leave you with a really good article I read in the Independent on Tevez. I felt it's a pretty good take on the way things have come to being.

United Marches On To Rome

Arsenal 1 - Manchester United 3
Scorers
Arsenal: Van Persie (pen 76)
Manchester United: Park (8), Ronaldo (11, 61)

Red Card: Fletcher (75)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Evra (Rafael 65), O'Shea, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson (Giggs 63), Park, Ronaldo, Rooney (Berbatov 66)

Simply superb result. Arsenal hardly knew what hit them. Park and Ronaldo give us a huge huge advantage early in the game that sunk all Arsenal's hopes of overturning the first leg deficit.

The first was via a counter attack and a lucky slip by Gibbs that allowed Park the room and time to score, and the second came from a thunderous freekick by Ronaldo just moments later.

With the tie basically sewn up early, the young Gunners lost their will and Wenger's promise of a seige didn't materialise.

Arsenal did try to salvage some pride in the second half, but a perfect counter-attacking move, involving Park, Rooney and ending with Ronaldo sealed the Arsenal fate. Three goals down and needing5 to progress, they were well and truely finished.

Ferguson rung in the changes, saving players who had yellows from picking up silly fouls and missing the finals. Both teams were content to go thru the motions and see the game out.

Then the referee had other ideas of his own. He awarded a penalty to Arsenal and sent Fletcher off. The penalty looked about right, but the red card was just plain silly. What he did was just open a can of worms. Van Persie pulled one back, but the game went downhill from then.

Both teams started making silly fouls and the referee didn't help matters by going whistle-happy at the slightest infringement. The last 15 minutes of the game felt like a freaking eternity. Thankfully we survived it unscathed.

With the champions league finals out of the way until the season ends, we can now fully concentrate on defending the Premiership title, beginning this weekend against a 'massive club'.

United Lets Arsenal Off Easy

Manchester United 1 - Arsenal 0
Scorer
Manchester United: O'Shea (17)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio (Evans 88), Vidic, Evra, O'Shea, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson (Giggs 67), Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez (Berbatov 67)

I'm kinda surprised just how little time I have since recovering from my bout of flu. A ton of work and readings left piled up while I was down and out. Since recovering, I've hardly had a good night's sleep not to mention half of that time taken up by entertaining friends over this long weekend. Nonetheless, I'll try to sum up my thoughts for the game in double quick time here, before this evening's game against Boro.

We started off the game with a bang, taking off from the way we ended the last one against Spurs. The pace was incredibly high octaned and Arsenal was immediately put on the backfoot, unable to cope with our speed and power. Before O'Shea's goal, we could very well have been 3-4 goals up. That was just how dominate we are.

Almunia played an absolute blinder. He single-handedly kept Arsenal in the tie. He made so many point-blank saves that I doubt any keeper in the Premiership even did in the entire season.

That said, we should have put Arsenal away. We played incredibly well and should have really buried the Londoners. We won every battle on the pitch and our midfield trio of Fletcher, Carrick and Anderson, especially Anderson, were simply outstanding.

Still we carry an advantage over to the second leg. It's a little disappointing to be only up one after such a complete display of football. At least we know in the second leg, Arsenal will be advanturous and come knocking on our door. It will leave plenty of space for our attackers to exploit. Hopefully Ferguson sticks to the plan and continues to stick with this lineup from the start. I cannot imagine Berbatov being effective on the counter.

Who Says You Can't win With Kids

Arsenal 2 - Manchester United 1
Scorers
Arsenal: Nasri (22, 47)
Manchester United: Rafael (89)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Neville (Rafael 63), Evra, Carrick, Anderson (Giggs 72), Park, Ronaldo, Rooney (Tevez 77), Babertov

If there was one game we needed Fletcher, this was it. It's a terribly disappointing result considering the frontline Arsenal was able to put out due to injuries and suspension.

We had the better of the opening exchanges, alot contributed by Almunia's jittery goalkeeping. He handled a backpass in the opening minute and gave away a freekick in the penalty area. But we squandered the chance to take the early advantage.

He then spilled a Rooney strike that Babertov scored from, only to be flagged offside. It was all going well for us at that point. We were controlling midfield and Arsenal were pegged back.

Then it all fell apart. Narsi's strike was deflected off Neville and into the goal. It sparked wild celebrations from the Emirate crowd and Arsenal grew in confidence.

Right at the opening of the second half, slack marking allowed Narsi to add to his goal total. The defence went to sleep and Nasri scored the second. Arsenal were good value for their lead. They had held us back comfortably and struck well on the counter.

In fact midway thru the half, Narsi could have had a penalty when Vidic yanked and pulled him down, but the ref waved play on. Although we had the lion's share of the possession, Arsenal were the ones that looked like scoring, threatening to sweep us away with good counter-attacking play. I felt their midfield outplayed ours, and without the workrate of Fletcher, we were second best. I wonder what happened to Fletcher as he was not even on the substitute's bench. I can only assume he's struggling with some injury, which is a shame.

It wasn't until near death that substitute Rafael pulled one back with a strike that showed good technic. He chested the ball and let fly from outside the box. It was a strike that put our expensively assembled strikeforce to shame. But it was way too little, way too late. It's startling just how dry Rooney has gone after being redhot for sometime and Tevez just doesn't get enough games to even get warmed up.

I can't seem to remember when was the last time we won at the Emirates. In fact our record against the 'big four' away, barring Liverpool has been rather abysmal. I think in our last 13 away games against Chelsea and Arsenal, we've only won once. It's quite a damning statistic. I suppose at least the silverlining here is that we've played all three teams away this season. It's imperative that we need the full compliment of points when the reverse fixtures come to have any hope of a hattrick of titles. And given the way we continue to jerk off in defence, that's going to be a tall order indeed.

Silvestre Leaves For Arsenal

That's right, Silves has signed for Arsenal. It comes as abit of a surprise to me since the tops clubs usually do no sell to domestic rivals, unless you're Spurs....and even they have started to regard themselves as a top club.

I'm surprised Fergie let Silves go to another rival, especially one with as bad a history as Wenger. He must either think very little of Silves or very little of the current Arsenal squad. One thing's for sure, the majority of the United fans must be cheering wildly.

As for me, I'd just like to thank Silvestre for 9 years of good, honest work done in a red jersey, although it doesn't always bring back good memories.

Hargeaves Ends Arsenal's Hopes

Manchester United 2 - Arsenal 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Ronaldo (pen 53), Hargreaves (72)
Arsenal: Adebayor (47)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Pique, Brown, Evra, Hargreaves (Giggs 89), Carrick, Scholes (Anderson 55), Park (Tevez 55), Ronaldo, Rooney

I wouldn't go into just how satisfying this win was. I was with Kentona and his friend, Danny, watching at the packed kopitiam near my place. I love watching at this place since we almost always win when we catch the game here.

There is a bitter old man who is always watching the games here and he's a well documented ABU (anything but united), always making his unwelcomed thoughts felt throughout the game, at the same time, generally pissing all the United fans. But today, all he could do was sip his beer quietly, slumped in his chair, for once not offering his sage advice to anyone who cared to listen. Damn, it's a good day to be a fan today.

We didn't make the best of starts. Fergie opted to field 5 in midfield and with the amount of possession Arsenal enjoyed in the middle of the park, you couldn't really tell. For most of the first half, it was all Arsenal, peppered by a few forays forward by Rooney, Ronaldo and Park.

Scholes in general was having a nightmare. He was spraying passes to the opposition, giving Carrick and Hargreaves a torrid time covering for him. The defence without Vidic was caught napping so often that you'd wonder when Arsenal will make the breakthrough. Hleb in particular was giving the entire defence the run around. It was a miracle that the half ended scoreless.

Unfortunately THAT breakthrough did come early in the restart. Barely 2 minutes had gone by, before the defence was once again caught napping and Adebayor nipped in between Rio and Carrick to score from a cross. There was probably a hint of handball, but in truth it was nothing more than the gooners had deserved. We were sluggish and couldn't match Arsenal's desire and intensity.

It was almost 2 just moments later when Rio slammed the ball into Van der Sar, almost causing us more embarrassment.

Then the inexplicable happened. We were pushing forward for an equalizer when Gallas handled the ball. Penalty! And a timely one, just when I was about to moan about us not having a penalty for quite sometime.

Ronaldo stepped up, stuttered towards the ball and powered it past Lehmann. The referee blew the whistle and waved the penalty away. Apparently while Ronaldo was stuttering towards the ball, a red shirt had stepped into the box and the penalty was to be retaken.

On the second bite of the cherry, Ronaldo placed the ball in beyond Lehmann who dived the correct direction. We had drawn level.

Sensing the momentum change, Fergie rung in the substitions. He brought on Tevez for Park and Anderson for the ineffective Scholes. Immediately the game turned on its head. Both players added a much needed level of intensity, skill and desire. We began to boss the midfield as Arsenal started to falter visibly.

It wasn't long before we won a freekick at the edge of the box. It was Ronaldo territory and everyone was expecting a thunderbolt from him. As he cued up for the kick, legs wide apart, it was the man beside him who took the kick, and my was it a beautifully taken one. No one in an Arsenal jersey was expecting it.

Hargeaves curled the ball beyond the wall and into the bottom left corner of the net. Lehmann stood rooted to the ground, still waiting for Ronaldo to make his run. 2-1 up and we were flying. Confidence was at an all time high as we knew we had Arsenal.

Arsenal did make a challenge out of it, even striking the post in injury time, but United stood firm, weathering whatever they threw at us. Ronaldo even had the luxury of showboating alittle, inviting a push from Hoyte, which saw him booked.

No doubt there would be complaints of Ronaldo's antics, but to be honest, if there was any team that would appreciate it, it would have been Arsenal. Afterall, weren't they lauded for playing pretty football throughout the season?

My maths is abit fuzzy, but we should now be 6 points away from the title with just 4 games left to play, and a game still to play against Chelsea.

United Knocks 5 Past Newcastle

Newcastle 1 - Manchester United 5
Scorers
Newcastle : Faye (79)
Manchester United : Rooney (25, 80), Ronaldo (45, 54), Saha (90)

Team : Van der Sar, Evra (O'Shea 46), Rio, Vidic (Scholes 74), Brown, Carrick, Fletcher, Nani, Ronaldo (Saha 67), Tevez, Rooney

I'll try to make this one short. It's been a long week and this is a late game, so I'm virtually exhausted from lack of sleep.

We closed to 3 points in the table with this emphatic victory against Newcastle as Arsenal dropped vital points in an earlier game which they practically dominated.

It kinda baffles the mind how far Newcastle has fallen. It's reached the stage where it's just almost catastrophic, like their sponsor Northern Rock.

Just as in the first meeting between the teams, they were utterly pathetic. While we were nowhere near top form, we still dominated the game without much effort put in. It didn't match the excitement of the first meeting but we still managed to scored 5 really outstanding goals, 2 each from Rooney and Ronaldo, with Saha rounding it all off in the dying minutes. It was a measured victory to say the least.

Rooney opened the scoring in the 25th when Ronaldo found space and time to provide an inch perfect cross right onto his feet. The defence was nowhere to be found and Rooney gleefully sidefooted it into the net.

Ronaldo got on the scoresheet at the end of the first half when Carrick sliced the already porous Newcastle defence with an absolutely beautiful pass. Showing incredible balance, Ronaldo controlled and shot while in full motion. It was a beautiful goal.

In the second half, Ronaldo added a third when he rounded Harper and smashed the ball into the empty net from an acute angle, finishing off a superb individual effort.

Newcastle managed to score a consolation goal when Faye scrambled one in from the corner. There was a suspicion of a handball involved, but quite honestly, no one really cared. We were going to win this one regardless.

The crybabies' joy was short-lived. The 3 goal cushion was quickly restored from the restart. From a blotched clearance, Rooney found just enough space to curl, what is probably the best goal of the game, into the corner of the net. It was pretty special and spectacular.

Saha finished the party with a well taken fifth. United didn't really break a sweat notching this victory. If only all the games were this easy.

Wes Brown
I can't believe Fergie actually blasted Brown's agent in an interview. While most of us probably agree that agents have hurt the game in some sense, but let's be realistic.

The players, barring a few, are not known to be good decision makers off the pitch. Without agents making deals on their behalf, who is going to prevent them from being fleeced by the clubs they play for? It's just the lesser of two evils.

As for Brown, I think he has every right to hold out for a better pay package. By United's standards, he's possibly underpaid. He's playing a key role for the best defence in the Premiership and that should account for something.

Not to mention, if he leaves on a free transfer, he'd probably be paid a singing on fee and someone like Newcastle would probably increase his current salary as well.

To put things into perspective, all we need to do is look at the guy playing on his left. That guy makes a whooping 120k a week! Just imagine your co-worker getting paid so much more than you, for practically doing the same job. I'm not saying that Brown's role is exactly like Rio's but when Rio's out, Brown is the natural replacement. That's gotta at least say something about Brown's worth.

I just don't get it why the club is being so anal over Brown's pay package...I just don't. Afterall, Brown's been with us since he was 12. That loyalty's gotta mean something.

Arsenal
I don't really like to write about Arsenal, but I would just love to pen my thoughts on them. I was out watching their game against Birmingham earlier today. I missed the foul on Eduardo, but Arsenal were pretty damn awesome in that game against virtually ten men Birmingham. Hell, there was a point in time I actually thought Arsenal were going to run up a rugby score.

But of course we know they didn't. And when it really mattered, they collapsed in the dying seconds of the game. Despite Wanker's protestations that last weekend's result was a one off, you can't help but wonder how much damage it has done to their fragile little egos.

In midweek, they failed to capitalise on numerous chances to put AC Milan away and today they simply collapsed against a much weaker opponent, despite having numerical advantage for the entire game.

Gallas' reaction when Clichy conceded the penalty was a godsend (to me). It just shows how fragile their makeup is. As the captain of the team, instead of rallying the troops, he actually threatened to walk out on the team. As the final whistle blew, he just slumped onto the ground in defeat. Imagine the impression he left on the youngsters playing beside him.

They must have been devastated to see their captain react in such manner. I know I would be absolutely disgusted if our own players did that with slightly less than a third of the season left.

I've stated time and time again that Arsenal is not a threat for the title this season (me patting my own shoulders). They just do no have the mental toughness to see it out. Their lack of testicular fortitude reared it's ugly head today.

The problem with the team is that they have no winners. The only past winners they have in the team are Gallas and to a less extent Gilberto. And today we can see just how pathetic Gallas is without Terry beside him.

I'm going to maintain that Chelsea still remains our fiercest rivals for the title. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that Arsenal doesn't suddenly find their testes and make my eat a huge crow. ;o)

Tearing Arse A New One

Manchester United 4 - Arsenal 0
Scorers
Manchester United : Rooney 16, Fletcher 20,74, Nani 38

Team : Van der Sar, Evra, Rio, Vidic, Brown, Anderson (Scholes 72), Carrick, Nani, Fletcher, Park, Rooney (Saha 71)

No Ronaldo. No Tevez. No Giggs. No Problem.

Fergie opted to save some legs for midweek's Champions League game against Lyon and it paid handsome dividends with a freshened lineup.

Arsenal, without their regular fullbacks, was tormented and torn apart down the flanks by a rampant United side, trying to put the nightmares of the past couple of weeks behind them.

A couple of early goals headers from Rooney and Fletcher in the first 20 minutes set the tone. Despite a healthy lead in the Premiership, Arsenal was no match for a spirited United. Park, Anderson and Fletcher were simply at their awesome best in midfield, giving the boys from London no chance whatsoever.

Nani added a third in the first half as United stamped their authority on the game. To put it simply, United were literally destroying the gooners.

Any hint of an Arsenal fight back soon evaporated early in the second half when one of the dirtiest bastards in mordern football tried to maim Evra with an x-rated tackle that would make Edison Chen blush in shame. Referee Wiley had no choice but to show the red card to Eboue. How the hell anyone with the right mind can argue with the decision is beyond me, as Eboue hung around, refusing to acknowledge the colour of the card. I'm willing to bet that Wenger probably didn't see the tackle as well.

With Arsenal down to ten men, and their spirit completely broken, United sprayed passes around in midfield and threatened to add to the scoreline. And it wasn't long before Fletcher added a fourth with a header from a really acute angle. United could very well have added more but a 4-0 result was good enough to peg Arsenal's confidence back and secure a place in the quarter finals of the FA Cup.

This is the United that we know. Utterly ruthless. For some reason, we've not been performing up to par for quite sometime and let's hope we continue to show such desire for the rest of the season.

A huge part of today's performance is probably due to a world-class performance from Fletcher. He's a big game player. Whenever he gets a chance to play in a big game, he performs. He did it against Chelsea a few years back and last year against Roma and AC Milan. I'm praying that Fergie recognises his efforts after today's game and that he gets a decent run in the team, despite our riches in midfield.

Credit must also be given to Anderson, Nani, Park and, in no small way, Carrick, who all harassed the Arsenal midfield, not allowing them any space to play their brand of football.

And Anderson needs to start, period. I had my doubts about him when we got him, but he's bedded in well with the team and is our little terrier in the middle of the park. I'm really pleased with how little time he's taken to adjust to the English game....and he's only 19!

I'm really looking forward to the next game in France. We've not been doing too well against French opponents in recent years. Lyon looks particularly dangerous with frontman Benzema. If we play the kind of footbal we're so capable of playing, I'm sure we would bring a good enough result back to OT for the second leg.

Ronaldo Shines In Sparkling Performance

Manchester United 2 - Portsmouth 0
Scorers
Manchester United : Ronaldo 10, 13

Team : Van der Sar, Evra, Rio, Vidic, Brown, Scholes (Hargreaves 62), Carrick, Park, Nani, Ronaldo (Anderson 73), Rooney (Tevez 73)

24hrs after Arsenal had briefly taken top spot by beating a truely woeful Newcastle, we turned up heat by totally obliterating Portsmouth.

Due to some technical difficulties, I missed the entire first half but managed to catch the highlights. From everything I saw, hear and read, we were totally in our element in the first half.

It didn't take long for us to open the scoring. Nani fed a beautiful ball to Ronaldo and he scored 10 minutes into the game.

His second came 3 minutes later from a wonder goal via a freekick. It's probably one of the best freekicks I've seen in my entire life.

Portsmouth didn't know what hit them as we continually tore them apart. Scholes was outstanding in midfield and you probably couldn't tell that this was his first start since his injury 3 months ago. It was as if he never missed a game.

I managed to fix my computer by the start of the second half and was happily seated in my room, anticipating the excitement to continue, unfortunately, by then we had taken the foot off the pedal, possibly thinking of the next game against Spurs.

Actually it was Portsmouth which decided not to engage us at our game. Apparently Harry Redknapp had decided that if they continued in the same vein as in the first half, they would be soundly thrashed and I can't really argue with that train of thought. Based on the highlights, we were that good.

We still bossed the midfield, and while Portsmouth didn't threaten, we couldn't add to the scoreline. We created numerous chances but neither Rooney, nor substitutes Anderson and Tevez, could convert any of them.

All in all, it was a good result and an even better performance. I just wish I could've caught the first half.

Munich Tribute
There's been plenty going around regarding the Munich tribute 50 years on. Strangely enough, alot of the debate seems to be going around the minute's silence when England plays their friendly in a week's time and our own 4 days later against City. The issue I personally have is all the noise that is being generated even before the minute's silence. For some reason, it leaves a sour taste. If there are going to be spoilers, so be it. Let's not add to the noise.

And speaking of the tribute, I received a mail earlier today and I have to take my hat off to Arsenal. In their match programme yesterday against Newcastle, they had their own special Munich tribute. You can probably view it on their website in a couple of days. For those of you who are too Red to hop over to the enemy's place, I'll post what was written there:

Today's match is the last here at the Emirates before the football world will remember the 23 people, including eight Manchester United players and nine journalists, who perished in Munich on February 6, 1958.

The Munich disaster occurred when Manchester United were refuelling on their return from a European Cup fixture against Red Star Belgrade in Yugoslavia. The final match that the legendary "Busby Babes" had played prior to their trip to Yugoslavia was at Highbury, as Sir Matt Busby's team won a thrilling encounter 5-4 in front of 63,758 on February 1, 1958.

The picture on the right shows Duncan Edwards, who was already regarded as one of the world's great players when he perished aged just 21, signing an autograph on the Highbury pitch prior to this match. Edwards went on to score in the game.

Arsenal Football Club would like to extend their sympathies to all those affected by those tragic events 50 years ago.

One of the game's darkest days - it will never be forgotten.

Football rivalries aside, this was indeed a classy move by them. I wonder if any of the other clubs did anything similar in their programmes.

Just Shut Up Fergie (Arsenal 2 - Manchester United 2)

Seriously, Fergie should just keep his bloody mouth shut sometimes. His tirade over the Sports Ministers comments were way out of line. Albeit that it was probably a jest, it was in poor taste. I'm sure the 'mob' that supports FC United didn't see the funny side of it. Sadly, I actually think off the pitch, our debt-ridden club will be in for a hard time in the near future. The recent sub-prime woes have exposed the dangerous ground we're walking on building a club based on debt.

But that's another topic for another day.

And just to keep with the title, Fergie issued another tirade after our 2-2 draw at the Emirates. Quite honestly, I don't even know what he's ranting about. We were our own worst enemies today, throwing away the lead twice. Fergie, try looking at our own backyard first.

As for the game proper, the first half was quite honestly a dry affair. Both teams were reluctant to take risks, hence contributed to a drab half. Gallas own goal was the only highlight, and it happened in the dying seconds of the half.

The Gooners came out of the second half firing on all cylinders and it only took them 2 minutes from the restart to draw level. Some comical defending on our part led to Fabregas placing the ball into an almost empty net. Vidic did his best Crocodile Dundee impression when he went on his walkabout, leaving the marking job of Adebayor to Hargreaves. Adebayor out-muscled and out-paced Hargeaves to run riot in the box and the ball fell to Fabregas with both Vidic, and EVS stranded. Rio decided the best course of action was to stand at the goal line instead of staying in front of the Spaniard, and Brown was day-dreaming. In short, it was a fucking comedy of errors by everyone involved.

With their tails up, Arsenal were coming forth in droves without actually threatening. Eventually we managed to regain our composure and matched whatever Arsenal had to throw at us. Fergie threw on Saha in place of an ineffective Tevez and Tissueboy conjured up a beautiful reverse pass into the path of Evra who ran straight thru the heart of the Arsenal defence, causing panic. While the entire defence converged on Evra, he had the presence of mind to lay it a wide open Ronaldo, who promptly took the gift.

It was a wonderfully crafted goal that should have won United the 3 points, but it was not to be. After taking the lead, both Anderson and Hargreaves sat deep, allowing Arsenal to draw level once again. Perhaps fittingly, it was Gallas who scored, rounding off the goals after he had put one into his own net to start it all off.

For the neutrals, it was probably a fitting results since both teams contributed to an entertaining game, but as a United fan, it was probably 2 points lost, both due to our own mistakes. At least we didn't lose ground to.

After watching Arsenal play the last few games, I'm confident that it's just a matter of time before we overtake them in the table. I personally feel that Arsenal is playing the best that they can with the personnel at their disposal.

At the same time, we're just barely scratching our potential. And when we do, we're going to beat them in the next meeting.