Manchester United / Arsenal Part II (A Happy Fan's Account)

Manchester United and Arsenal lined up today for the second time this season, and to be honest it scared me half to death. I spent last night tossing and turning, waiting for my alarm to go off at 7am, having nightmare visions of Chelsea winning the league. I wasn't all that worried about a Van Persie-less Arsenal, but I was worried about Man U's amazing ability to drop a serious stink bomb from time to time (Leeds for example) and ruin my week. My only comfort through the night was that Arsenal has a similar skill to skunk up the pitch, but that wasn't going to happen at the Emirates... right?

All I knew going into the game was that a draw was the worst possible result for the good of the Premier League. I know Arsenal fans are saying that losing 3-1 is the worst possible thing that could have happened, but I would have thrown up if Chelsea were to extend their lead over #2 by virtue of a draw.

It wasn't early enough for me to forget my notepad, so with a chocolate stout in hand and serious butterflies I kept a running diary. I'm no Barry Glendenning, but I do my best.

2' - Arshavin darts in with the ball, shot goes wide, and I just crapped myself.
3' - Andrew : "Arshavin has been a ball hog lately", boy would he be right. How do you say "pass" in Russian?
3' - Announcers mention "they are exploiting Raphael", Andrew : "Sounds like they are lubing him up for a good buggering."
6' - ROONEY! Ball at his feet, chance wasted. Nice pass by Fletcher, but better defending by Gallas.
8' - Shot off Man United corner cleared by Nasri from the line, very dangerous.
12' - Arshavin makes Brown look like a clown, but shoots wide. A pass into the middle would have been extremely dangerous.
16' - Song draws a yellow card, not a good call, but painful for Nani.
19' - Andrew : "Bolton all over again." Nothing seems to be going Arsenal's way. Vermaelen boots a clearance straight up into the air, Rooney collects, fails to capitalize.
19' - United's defense looks confused *cough* Brown *cough*, Arshavin's poor pass leads to Fabregas missing a chance to shoot.
23' - Man United looks dead on defense, Nasri wastes a chance with the ball at his feet.
23' - Andrew : "BASTARD!" Gallas shoots from 70 meters out, over the crossbar.
25' - Brilliant pass by Fletcher to Scholes who can't get a shot off, great defending by Gallas.
26' - ROONEY! So close.
27' - Nani close, but wide.
28' - Nani again, hospital ball dies in Almunia's arms. Nani keeps making dangerous runs, and Arsenal keeps letting him in.
32' - GOAL! Nani goes through three defenders and tries to chip Almunia to the far side, Almunia tips it in. Brilliant sequence for Nani and a tough break for Almunia.
36' - GOAL! Rooney collects the ball, passes to Nani who finds a streaking Rooney for his 100th EPL goal. Rooney starts and finishes, Arsenal's back four looks distracted, hopefully they are focused on Chelsea next week.
37' - Arshavin misses wide on a good chance, Andrew is becoming suicidal.
40' - Rooney to Fletcher to Nani who wastes a chance to go up 3-0.
43' - Van Der Sar (6'5") kicks Arshavin (A generous 5'8") and gets hurt, Arshavin barely comes up to Van Der Sar's chest.

Congrats on 100 Rooney

46' - Song takes on eight defenders and gets off a shot, and I crapped myself again. Otherwise, Arsenal looks rusty and rushed on the attack.
49' - Rooney shoots from the edge of the box and makes Almunia work for the save.
51' - GOAL! Park walks in and scores easily. This is becoming a complete disaster for Arsenal.
59' - Song's long bicycle-ish shot goes wide. Bad news for Gunners fans, Walcott is getting ready.
68' - Park passes to Rooney who shoots wide across the goal. Rooney is getting alot of chances to notch his 101st.
70' - Giggs comes in for Scholes, swapping age for more age.
71' - Bendtner comes on for Rosicky, not sure why but him wearing #52 annoys the hell out of me.
74' - Rooney makes a move and sends Eboue tumbling to the ground, but misses wide on a great chance.
79' - GOAL! Andrew : "Just score a fucking goal!" Vermaelen must have been listening, as Evans deflects a shot into the back of the net. 3-1 looks bad, but its much better than 3-0.
81' - Arshavin nearly scores off a corner, but Carrick knocks it away.
82' - Nani takes a shot from Old Trafford, shockingly, it sails harmlessly over the crossbar and into the stands.
85' - Arsenal corner, ball ping-pongs around in the box, Evra uses a back heel flick to save a dangerous shot on goal.
88' - Berbatov on, Nani off, suddenly 3-1 doesn't seem like a safe lead.
89' - Gallas renders a WIDE OPEN header harmless, should be 3-2 right now. Arsenal showing some life, and Man United showing some incredible dumb luck.
92' - The last thing Arsenal fans need to see is a Bendtner-Walcott combo on the attack.
93' - Rooney misses a wide open shot. Arsenal's defense, aside from Gallas, seems to have checked out 30-40 minutes ago.

Game : Manchester United 3 - Arsenal 1. Hopefully Wenger has some inspired words for his team with a trip to Stamford Bridge looming next weekend. I know I should be more concerned with United winning their games, but with Arsenal going into a tough stretch of games (Chelsea-Liverpool) I'm worried this loss with turn them into zombies against Chelsea. I wish I could say Man United were definitely the better team, but luck was on their side, hopefully they can sort things out at the back *cough* sit Brown *cough* or else they are going to be looking up at Chelsea for the rest of the season.

Side note : Premier League fans/media are insanely fatalistic. Remember a few weeks ago when everyone was predicting the end of Liverpool? A failure to finish in the top four would mean a mass exodus of talent to pay the bills, Rafa would be fired, and the apocalypse would follow, etc. Well with 14 games left they are a single measly point out of 4th, yet the Mersyside faithful are carving "Brooks Was Here" into the walls of Anfield. They still have to play United, Arsenal, and Chelsea (a possible gut punch if they lose, 2nd to last game of the year) again, but people need to relax.