Manchester United - Arsenal Match Preview

"Bad luck old chap."

Oh what a difference a season makes! This time last year United were nine points clear of us and I was swallowing sadness as my former hero was scoring traitorous goal after traitorous goal for them.  Olivier Giroud was still struggling to find his feet and Arsenal fans knew that despite some good additions to the squad in the form of Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski, we weren't title-challengers.  United had beaten us on their turf in a game where we were completely dominated and our captain was even kind enough to gift van Persie the opening goal.

Fast forward a year and the fortunes of both clubs have changed dramatically... United are the team being mocked from all sides, the all-conquering Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down and was replaced by Moyes, whose summer transfer activity and slow start certainly hasn't endeared him to the Old Trafford faithful.  Arsenal on the other hand sit proudly on top of the table after their best start to the season in many years and their most eye-catching transfer of all time.

A few words on Robin van Persie then... even now, more than a year after his transfer, I struggle to mention him without spouting out a string of the crudest expletives that I can muster.  I adored the man, I loved watching him in an Arsenal shirt and his departure hurt me more than that of any former player.  Call me bitter but I want to see the man fail; I want to see pain and regret in his eyes as often as possible and there is no better opportunity than this Sunday to show what a terrible decision he made.  Although he was firing on all cylinders this time last year and Olivier Giroud still looked a bit lost, a glance at their figures this season suggests that we have found a more than adequate replacement:

These figures take into account League and Champions League Football and as you can see the two strikers are tied on goals but you can also see Giroud has been superior to van Persie in almost every other department, although to be fair van Persie is playing in a much weaker team (snigger).  While he may not have van Persie's eye for the spectacular, that ability to create something out of nothing; Giroud creates so many more chances and brings a lot more to the team.  I would hazard a guess that the Arsenal midfielders prefer playing with Giroud.

One area that we certainly should have the better of United on Sunday is the midfield, where United look far from convincing and Arsenal have an embarrassment of riches.  No one man typifies Arsenal's turnaround more than Aaron Ramsey and it so easily could have been very different if he had joined United instead of Arsenal.  Fortunately for us, Arsène Wenger convinced young Aaron that he was the man to develop him into a world-class midfielder.  What the two of them have achieved together is remarkable - Arsène has shown an outstanding ability to nurture talent through his career but Ramsey could prove to be his greatest success story - to mentor him following his horror injury at the hands of the Orcs, to see past his poor form last season and to extend his contract and to guide him to where he is now is just remarkable.

United's attack is of course very strong.  Whereas Ferguson would often deploy a five-man midfield against us with largely successful results I expect Moyes to play both Rooney and van Persie on Sunday. It's an intimidating strike force but we can be very much encouraged by impressive clean sheets against Napoli, Tottenham, Liverpool and Dortmund.  

As Carl gleefully pointed out in his excellent preview, our recent record at Old Trafford makes grim reading. We may be brought crashing down to earth by that traitorous Dutch helmet and co. but we are more than good enough to really kick them while they are down and complete a fantastic week's work with a most satisfying victory.  While we can never underestimate United, I can't remember the last time I felt so optimistic before a game against them.  I would love it... I would just love it...

Prediction:
Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal


If you missed it, do please give Carl's preview (from a United fan's perspective) of the game a look.  It really is an excellent read.