Arsenal is going to take on Manchester United on this Sunday at the Emirates Stadium. The match will take place on 31 January and the starting time is 16:00 GMT. The outcome of the result is very important for both of the matches as it is an important match in the league table at this moment. Naturally, both the team will play to win and whoever loses will perhaps suffer a big blow in the race of English Premier League table this season. Both the clubs are facing some problems in the recent risk and they are trying to come over the problems.
It is a home match for Arsenal. In this season, in August Manchester United entertained Arsenal at Old Trafford on August 29, 2009. In that match, United won by 2-1. It was a very tightly contested match and Arsenal scored at first and even was leading in the half-time one goals to nil. That goal was scored by Arshavin and it was a long distance shoot. So, again we are expecting a tight and competitive match at the Emirates Stadium on this Sunday.
What is at stake?
In the league table at this moment, Manchester United is in the second position and they have 50 points from 23 matches. On the other hand, Arsenal is in the third position in the league table and they have got 49 points from the same number of matches. So you can see that just one point separates these two clubs. The league leader at this moment is Chelsea and Chelsea Chelsea is ahead of United by one point and Arsenal by two points and another good thing is that Chelsea Liverpool has got only 38 points from 23 matches. Thus, it is a three way match at this point of the season and if Arsenal losses this matches then perhaps they will be out of title or race. In the last few seasons, we have seen two way race between Manchester United and Chelsea
If we look at the recent performance then we have to say that Manchester United has got better performance. Last Saturday Manchester United played in a league match and they won it by four goals to nil. In that match, Wayne Rooney was in superb form and he scored all four goals for his club against Hull City Stoke City Stoke City
Injuries and Availability
A very important factor perhaps in this match will be injury. For Arsenal, we already know that a number of players were injured and this time they will miss another two important players. There will be no Thomas Vermaelen and Eduardo. The only consolation for the Gunners fans is that the injury of Vermaelen is not that much serious and most probably he will come back in the next match. However, still Arsenal will be without their best defender in this match against United. I don’t think they will miss Eduardo that much because they are striker Nicklas Bendtner is going to play in this match and he is back from a long injury. Nicklas Bendtner can be a serious threat because of his height. He is gradually becoming a matured player. Arsenal will also miss players like Diaby, Djourou and Gibbs. As for Manchester United, the suspension of Ferdinand is going to be a bad thing for the team in this match. He is a very good defender but he needs perhaps to control his temper more. United will miss two players because of injury and they are Hargreaves and O'Shea. The good news for Arsenal is that Alex Song and Emmanuel Eboué will be available for the match as they are back after African cup of nations. This is very good news because Arsene Wenger is suffering from the injury this season and these two players can help him a lot. Their return will also give a mental boost for the players along with the return of Nicklas Bendtner. Nemanja Vidić is also going to be back after injury and his presence will be good too.
Arsenal Strength and Weakness
Now, I like to talk about the team strength and weakness of Arsenal and Manchester United. First I want to talk about the London club. They have a very good defense and perhaps Almunia is in his best form this season. Almunia has produced some good saves and he can be easily considered as one of the top three goal keepers in this season in English Premier League. In defense they will surely miss Vermaelen and I think that Sania, Gallas, Campbell and Clichy can play. Well, the return of Alex Song may happen too. In defense, I think that they look solid but a lot depends on how Campbell can work because Campbell has come to complete football after many weeks. In mid-field, Arsene Wenger will surely miss Diaby. However, Fàbregas is the key to the mid-field. I think that their will be Denílson, Rosický and Theo Walcott may feature too. In striking area, Bendtner will perhaps form a partnership with Arshavin. It is perhaps a bit bad for Arshavin that he has to feature so much as striker. He is good as striker but he can be better in the mid-field. However, as I have already said that Arsenal is suffering from injuries and Arshavin has to be there. He is in good form this season but we have not perhaps seen the best from him. Arshavin is always influential and he is playing well to but I hope that in the next three matches against Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea he can produce something exceptional for his club.
Manchester United Strength and Weakness
Manchester United has a great goal keeper Edwin van der Sar. Edwin van der Sar missed some matches because of injury but he is still a very good goalkeeper. Their defense will look really shaky without Ferdinand. Ferdinand, Evans and Evra may play and they need to develop better understanding. Compare to Arsenal mid-field, I feel that United mid-field is a bit weaker. Park, Fletcher, Scholes and Nani are their. However, Manchester United has a great striking option in Rooney and Berbatov and Owen. Rooney is in superb form and he is causing all sorts of problem for the opposition club. It will be interesting to see if he can do something special in this match. Berbatov is also not bad and Owen is also ok but they are nothing compare to Rooney.
Fabregas the Maradon
For Arsenal, Cesc Fàbregas is the Maradona. He is a mid-field player but he is now the top goal scorer for the club in this season. Cesc Fàbregas has scored 14 goals and out of them he has scored 11 goals in Premier League. After him, Arshavin and Vampersie both scored 8 goals. So, you can see that Cesc Fàbregas is not only playing in mid-field but Arsenal is also depending him on getting regular goals. That is why, I feel that he is really like Diego Maradona in this season for the club.
Who can Stop Rooney?
If we want to talk about Cesc Fàbregas then we must not leave Wayne Rooney. Rooney is also in greatest form of his career. He has literally become a goal machine for United and he has scored 21 goals in this season already for Manchester United. Out of them 19 goals were scored in league matches. So, Rooney is perhaps very successful in league and he may easily become top scorer in Premier League this season. On Sunday’s match, Sol Campbell will have to do a very bad job of guarding Wayne Rooney. Campbell is 35 years old and it will be perhaps a bit difficult but he will surely try his best. One of the smartest things Wenger has done in this season is to get Campbell again in the club. For him, the club did not have to pay much money and Campbell is showing that he is not yet finished.
Alex Ferguson Says
Naturally, before any such big match the two coaches say a lot of things. Sir Alex Ferguson thinks that this is the biggest match for United in this season. He said that it is very important for the club to win and both Arsenal and Manchester United has the capability to win the title this season.
Alex Ferguson said, "Looking at the way the league is shaping up, this game on Sunday is the biggest of the season for us if Chelsea win their game in hand they go four points ahead of us. That is the catch-up part. But Sunday's game has great relevance because both sides have a genuine chance of winning the league.
It is amazing how this league has changed. As I have said all along, the team that is most consistent will win the league now. Arsenal's current form has been very good. It has brought them back into the picture. That is why this is such a massive game for us."
Arsene Wenger Says
As for Arsene Wenger, perhaps the main thing to focus is how to content Wayne Rooney. He said that he is not afraid about Sol Campbell facing Wayne Rooney on Sunday. He has put his faith on Campbell and he has praised him for practicing very hard to make a come back in Premier League football. Wenger has said that he will take a last minute look at the condition of Vermaelen and if possible then he will try to put Vermaelen on the field but may be it will not be possible and most probably Sol Campbell will start for the club.
Arsene Wenger said, “Sol Campbell’s ready if he has recovered well. Normally he will play if Vermaelen doesn’t. It’s certainly not expected for him a few months ago when he signed for Notts County. He’s worked very hard. Every day he was motivated to push himself. He looks fit.
I think he’ll be able to cope with Rooney. He has experience and he likes, as well, the big games. He can turn up if needed. Experience helps in this kind of game.”
Who will win?
So, you can perhaps see that both the clubs have good potentials and it will be a very competitive match in the end. If you ask me who will win then I think that Manchester United is the favorite to win this match because of their recent performance and because of the good performance of Wayne Rooney. I do not want to discard Arsenal because of just one reason. Cesc Fàbregas is really becoming a top payer and I can the shadow of Maradona in him. At this moment, Arsenal does not have big stars but Cesc Fàbregas almost single handedly is taking the club ahead and I just wish that he stays here for another five to seven years.
Many websites will surely provide live score of the match and I am giving the names of few of them:
Live Score
Goalzz
Live Football Scores
Goal.com
BBC Football
In conclusion, I like to say that on this Sunday, try to be in front of a television set. Both the coaches are hopeful that it will be an enjoyable and competitive match. I hope that you will not miss it.
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