What: English Premier League
Who: Arsenal vs Manchester United
When: Sunday 28th April, 2013, at 16:00 UK Time
Where: Emirates Stadium, London, England
Arsenal Battle To Stay Clear of London Rivals
It is the slenderest of advantages Arsenal now hold over London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham following a run of eight wins in 10 games. One point clear of Chelsea and two of Tottenham, Arsenal’s fate is only in their own hands because those other two sides’ game in hand comes against each other at Stamford Bridge in May. Four wins out of four will guarantee Arsenal at least fourth place in the Premier League, but they start the final sprint up against the newly crowned champions.
Arsenal may feel chastened at having to give Manchester United a guard of honour at the Emirates Stadium, particularly with Robin van Persie returning for the first time to the place he lit up until last summer. That will only remind Arsenal’s fans of how long it has been since they tasted tangible glory of any sort. Yet in a way Arsenal fans will have been cheering on Manchester United on Monday against Aston Villa, knowing that Sir Alex Ferguson’s side would have been hugely motivated to win the league at the Emirates Stadium as payback for Arsenal’s Old Trafford triumph in 2002. And there is always the danger of a post celebration hangover for the visitors.
The Gunners will need to improve on their last three games though. Last week saw a strange win against Fulham, where Arsenal were hugely impressive for all of ten minutes, before the red card handed to Steve Sidwell stopped them in their tracks. Suddenly it was as though Arsenal thought the game was already won. They stumbled to victory in the end, but they will need to be far more convincing than that to win this clash and hold off their city rivals.
Title Win Caps Manchester United Dominance
The Premier League title was wrapped up with style on Monday as Manchester United brushed aside the challenge of Aston Villa with ease, cruising to a 3-0 win at Old Trafford. With four games remaining, it is the earliest any team has been crowned champions since 2003/04, when opponents Arsenal lifted the title.
Manchester United fully deserved their title too. Not for many a year has the Premier League been dominated so completely by one team. Ferguson’s side were by far the best team in the league and it can be argued that ever since Van Persie stuck a free kick past Joe Hart at the Etihad Stadium the title success has been an inevitability.
While Ferguson’s men may already be in celebratory mode, the Scot will not want his team to let up now they have the title sealed. He has his eyes set on breaking the Premier League points record of 95. To do that, Manchester United must win each of their last four games, starting at the Emirates Stadium. Ferguson will also want his team to rediscover their best form in the final weeks to avoid an anti-climatic finale to the season. Despite lifting the title, there is a sense that this season promised so much more for Manchester United.
Recent form
Arsenal:
Arsenal 3-1 Norwich City (13/04; Premier League)
Arsenal 0-0 Everton (16/04; Premier League)
Fulham 0-1 Arsenal (20/03; Premier League)
Manchester United:
Stoke City 0-2 Manchester United (14/04; Premier League)
West Ham United 2-2 Manchester United (17/04; Premier League)
Manchester United 3-0 Aston Villa (22/04; Premier League)
Key absences
Arsenal: Olivier Giroud (suspended); Lukasz Fabianski; Abou Diaby
Manchester United: Ashley Young; Paul Scholes
Players to watch
Arsenal – Santi Cazorla: The Spaniard will be pivotal for Arsenal in this game. Cazorla has been their most consistent player this season and the one most likely to unlock tight defences with his accurate passing. He also boasts a fierce shot from distance. Arsenal’s top goalscorer in the league, he is sure to see plenty of the ball as the Gunners probe away at the Manchester United backline and will therefore be vital.
Manchester United – Robin van Persie: How Arsenal will wonder what might have been had they kept the Dutchman. Van Persie was typically brilliant in netting the hat-trick against Aston Villa, but it would be fascinating to be inside his head for this clash. Interestingly, in his last 17 appearances at the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal he scored 17 goals. Van Persie has a genuine affection for his former team, and with little to play for, it might be wondered how motivated he will be. But he is still the player most capable of sinking a dagger into Arsenal’s Champions League ambitions.
Match Prediction
There are interesting parallels between this game and last week’s clash between Tottenham and Manchester City. Again a North London side hoping for a crucial victory in the race for a top four spot face a Manchester team above them in the league, but with relatively little to play for. Arsenal will hope they can do as well as Spurs did. The first goal will be important – these sides have lost the fewest points from winning positions this season. But Manchester United have won six of their last seven against Arsenal.
Arsenal vs Manchester United games of recent times have tended to see Ferguson set his team up to absorb pressure and hit the Gunners on the break. Pace and width out wide has been crucial to that. However, Arsenal’s defence has noticeably improved since their victory at Bayern Munich back in March, and there has been a genuine resilience about them at the back. Given that Manchester United’s wide players have not been at their electrifying best they may not suffer quite as much as they usually do when these teams meet.
The big issue for Arsene Wenger to deal with is whether to play Lukas Podolski or Theo Walcott in place of the suspended Olivier Giroud. Either could do a good job at the head of their formation, but both tend to play better on the counter attack than when on the front foot, whereas Giroud is far better at breaking through a resolute defence. This may be the big issue at the Emirates Stadium and Arsenal could regret the Frenchman’s absence. Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United.
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