Fergie - Arsenal were unlucky

Sir Alex Ferguson admits that his side were fortunate to take all three points in a pulsating tie with Arsenal.

The Manchester United boss saw his team come from behind to snatch a 2-1 win at Old Trafford in a game which swung from end to end.

Emmanuel Adebayor had given the Gunners the lead just after half-time, but a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo and a fabulous free-kick from Owen Hargreaves saw the Red Devils kill off their rivals' title aspirations.

Ferguson believes the game produced an outstanding spectacle for the spectators, and feels that both sides should be proud of the performance they put in.

"I watched the Liverpool-Arsenal game on Tuesday and I thought it was an absolutely fantastic game, but the quality out there today was outstanding - you won't get a better game this year," he told Sky Sports.

"They were the better team in the first half and I thought we were a bit nervous.

"Our passing was poor, I thought our confidence in expressing themselves was poor, I couldn't wait to get to half-time.

"There was always a second team for me today though because (Carlos) Tevez and Anderson were always going to play a part.

"When Arsenal scored it forced my hand and we were fantastic after that. Wayne (Rooney) could have had a hat-trick, we played some good football, Arsenal had fantastic moments themselves and it was just an incredible game

"I think Arsenal were unlucky not to get something from the game.

"They put everything into it, you couldn't ask for more from a team than Arsenal produced today. They have given their best effort I think, but we still managed to win it."

Manchester United v Arsenal 13 April

Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal

Man U

Ronaldo (pen) 53' View/ Download

Hargreaves 72' View/Download

Arsenal

Adebayor 48' View/Download

All goals

Extras

Adebayor's chance

Rooney's chance

Rooney's 2nd chance


Highlights

First Half Highlights View/ Download Mirror

Second Half Highlights Download

Full Match highlights View/ Download

MOTD highlights

MOTD Post Match interviews and analysis.

Full Match HD Quality

Full Match (330mb)

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Credit:Mr. Mercury and fred54 and muthoowana


What can I say about the match that just put up out of the running in the title race? It was like feeling Deja Vu. Score a goal(although it was a handball) and then concede a penalty few minutes after that.

We started the game very well. We should have taken at least some of the chances we created in the first half. I think that cost us the game today. All the build up play was just superb, but we lacked end product.

Man U were playing only on counter attacks, although the match was at OT. That shows the level of dominance we had in the first half.Adebayor had 3 or 4 good chances from which he could have scored. Rooney had one golden opportunity to put Man U ahead, although it was against the run of play, but Lehmann got a foot to it.

Second half started the same way first half ended. Arsenal dominating the play. 3 minutes after the restart, we scored from a lovely cross from van Persie. Adebayor put the ball in the back of the net with his hand. It was a deserved lead for Arsenal.

Again our defense fell asleep, not for the first time this season. We just cant hold onto a lead! Gallas handled the ball inside the box and penalty was given. No complaints there. Ronaldo was made to take the penalty twice and he scored in both occasion. It was a major blow to Arsenal and we started to give away the ball, way too cheaply after the goal. Man U started to take a grip on the game.

In the 72 minute we conceded a free kick, few meters from the box. although Ronaldo was the favorite to take the kick, it was Hargreaves who took it and scored. It was a superb freekick and Lehmann could not do much.

That was the final nail in the coffin for our fading title hopes. We just couldn't get ourselves to level the score after that goal. Bendtner had 2 good chances to level the score but he headed the ball straight to Van der sar.

Till the final minute we tried in vain to get the equiliser, but could not. The season is over for us. We need to start planning for the next season so that the same mistakes are not committed again and again.

This season where we were expected to move out of the top 4 and struggle for uefa cup spot, after losing Henry. We have performed marvelously well to come within a striking distance of the BPL crown. This season has to be a season where the team has exceeded all expectations. So we can proud of that fact and start thinking of the new season ahead of us.

This season might be a season where we haven't won a trophy, but the team has done enough to say that the season wasn't a failure


Match report here. One more here.

Player Ratings

Wenger's comments here and here

Giggs Warns Of Arsenal Backlash

Giggs fully expects there to be a reaction from Arsene Wenger’s team following their agonising exit from the Champions League on Tuesday at the hands of Liverpool.

The veteran Welshman believes Arsenal could be at their most dangerous as they look to bounce back from defeat and keep their title dreams alive.

“When you lose your pride is hurt and you want to do better next time, and that's the good thing about football” Giggs explained.

“When you're down you usually get a chance to put it right soon. They're a talented team and some of the football they've played this season has been fantastic” he added.

“They will think they can win. We expect a tough game.

“You expect nothing else from this fixture.”

Arsenal's last throw of the dice at Old Trafford

As if Arsenal have not suffered enough from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in recent weeks, they are now being speared by familiar suggestions that they are paying the price for their obsession with the beautiful game, as though dazzling football and success are somehow impossible bedfellows. If that were the case, the Real Madrid side of the Sixties and the 1970 Brazilian World Cup team would never have won anything.

Robin van Persie, whose long absence is a more viable reason for Arsenal's failure, if we can call it that before today's final throw of the Premier League dice against Manchester United at Old Trafford, insists that the team will never abandon what he considers their duty to entertain. And to those who might sneer at the end of the season that Arsenal played great football and won nothing, the Dutch striker says: "A lot of teams who did not play much good football will also end up with nothing.

"For me, the basic of football is to give enjoyment to people buying a ticket. That's where it starts. We are like 11 actors on a stage, we have to give enjoyment. This is the way we think football has to be played and we really believe that we can win things, big things, with this style of football. We have to stick with our own ideas and our own way of playing football, but sadly it's just not happening at the moment."

It was happening at Anfield when Theo Walcott's remarkable run set up Emmanuel Adebayor to make it 2-2, a scoreline that would have taken Arsenal through. But Van Persie could be talking about the Gunners' twin ambitions to win the Premier League and the Champions League this season when he says: "We had it in our hands and it just disappeared. The whole situation has changed because everyone expected to go through. Now we can only hope in the last five league games and that's that.

"Of course it's not easy to accept because we played tremendous football this season. Everyone was like, 'Ahhh, Arsenal are really playing well' - and we did and it's really hard to accept that it's out of our hands. But it's not finished yet. When you want to win things, there are three or four big periods in a season and this is the final one. The momentum is not really with us but it can change if we get three points at Old Trafford. If not, it is finished."

The other, more justifiable, criticism of Arsenal is that manager Arsene Wenger has failed to build a squad to match those of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, one big enough to absorb the injuries which have put an unbearable burden on those forced to play in every game, particularly Cesc Fabregas, who rarely gets the rest he undoubtedly needs.

Van Persie says: "I don't think size is a problem because if you can play this kind of football for so much of the season, it is not about size, it's just our luck. It has been frustrating for me not to play more because I started the season with these fantastic ambitions and I have played only 20 games.

"We have missed Tomas [Rosicky] because he is a fantastic player and of course, Eduardo. What happened to him was hard to take because it was so useless, so stupid and of course it affected all the squad."

After the lacerating nature of Arsenal's exit on Tuesday, a game at Old Trafford five days later seems like cruel and unusual punishment. But for footballers, like actors, the show never stops and Van Persie describes today's encounter, coming so soon after Anfield, as "like a bonus or something".

Adebayor: Babel Penalty Like In PlayStation

The Togolese striker had just scored for Arsenal to level the scores at 2-2 on the night, 3-3 on aggregate, with only seven minutes remaining at Anfield.

"That penalty for Liverpool, to be honest, for me it was like I was watching a video or a game on a PlayStation," he said. "Why? Because I just couldn't believe it."

"We were trying to do something, to equalise and it was not easy and then six minutes from the end of the game we did it, we came back to 2-2. As a player you think, 'We came back to 2-2, we had a good chance and we lost'. You must know what I mean. We were in the Champions League semi-final and you can imagine how excited we must have been.

“If I remember, [Fernando] Torres passed the ball to somebody – maybe [Dirk] Kuyt? – and when they passed the ball to Babel I was praying and watching. Then I saw the penalty had been given and I was like 'oooofff'."

"To be five minutes. Away. From a semi-final. We didn't take that chance and to be honest that is very difficult to accept. At 2-1 you can understand [if you lose] but when you get it back to 2-2 and you are going through and all you need is to hang on for six minutes – I think that is even more painful."

The Gunners looked in prime position to secure the Premiership going into February, sporting a six-point lead at one stage. But a series of disappointing results has derailed their campaign to bring the Premier League crown back to North London, and Adebayor has pointed the finger squarely at their failure to beat supposedly beatable teams such as Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and Wigan.

"You can feel that those are the games that, no matter what happens, you have to win," he said. "When you see Birmingham or Aston Villa you see the team and inside you think, 'We can win 1-0, minimum'. You know what I mean? We had the penalty against Birmingham [which allowed James McFadden to equalise in the last minute], then there was Wigan. But at the end of the day those are the most difficult games you can play in England.

"You play against Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United, it's a different game, they are all big stars and they want to play football. Playing against them, most of the time it is easier playing against Manchester than Wigan because [against United] everyone is in position; they know what to do when they get the ball. When I get the ball [against United] I have a chance to get one against one because they play attacking football as well. You match up and you have a lot of chances to score. It can be 2-2, 4-2.

"When you play against Wigan or Everton, I'm sorry, I respect them a lot but the first thing is they work hard defensively and then offensively it is like, 'We will see what we can do'. It is always complicated, it is always difficult.

“These are the games that are going to be most difficult as a player. To be a champion, no matter what happens, you have to win against Middlesbrough and Wigan and Everton. They are the teams that you have to beat. It's no good if you beat Manchester, Liverpool, Chelsea if you've have lost against Middlesbrough and Villa.

“In our heads we think games like Wigan are going to be easy and when we step on the pitch it is not as easy as we think. It means that in our heads we are not ready."

Henry Still Has Faith In Arsenal

Barcelona striker Thierry Henry has insisted he still believes former club Arsenal can win this season's Premier League

The Gunners slipped up last weekend, dropping points at home to Liverpool before crashing out of Europe to the Reds on Tuesday night at Anfield.

The gap to Manchester United at the top of the Premiership table is six points, but the Gunners have a chance to change that on Sunday as they travel to Old Trafford.

Arsenal know they're more than capable of getting a result against United, having done a league double over them last season, and Henry stressed that the trauma of midweek would not hamper the side's focus.

“It’s not about the loss at Liverpool affecting them or not," said the Frenchman, who declared himself an Arsenal fan for life despite ditching the Gunners for Barcelona last summer. "The world knows that they need to win at Old Trafford, no more, no less. If there is a team who can beat Manchester United it’s Arsenal.

"Last year Arsenal did the double against them," he recalled. "I didn’t play at Old Trafford but Adebayor had an amazing game and scored. Then I scored the winner at the Emirates. There’s still a possibility of Arsenal winning this title," the former Monaco and Juventus man continued. "There’s five games remaining so 15 points.

"The difference between Man United and Arsenal is six points. You never know what can happen," he exclaimed. "Chelsea and Manchester United are still in the Champions League and it’s never an easy task to combine the two. United’s last game against Middlesbrough showed that if you have a go at them it is possible, even though they had players injured. Rio was injured and Vidic too.”

Fergie feels for Wenger

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has surprisingly shown some sympathy to old foe Arsene Wenger's plight at Arsenal.

Ahead of Sunday's showdown at Old Trafford, Ferguson says Wenger has been unlucky with the number of injuries he has had to contend with.

The stakes are high for Arsenal as they travel to Manchester knowing defeat will all but end their lingering title dreams.

"Arsenal have had so many injury problems," said Ferguson. "If you don't have your best players it is difficult to get the best result.

"But it is not just having your best players but having the best squad available, to enable you to change when you need that bit of freshness."

Arsenal fans want all Guns blazing

Arsenal supporters want their side to attack Manchester United on Sunday in a desperate bid to keep their title hopes alive.

Voting on the IFan website, loyal Gooners are keen to see Arsene Wenger ring the changes after the agonising Champons League exit to Liverpool in midweek.

Nothing less than three points will realistically keep the North Londoners in the title hunt but they face a United side that trounced Wenger's team 4-0 in the FA Cup and were able to rest key man Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday.

IFan voters would spring a surprise in goal by naming Jens Lehmann ahead of Manuel Almunia. Even though the German made some unnecessarily divisive and negative comments in the press after the Anfield woe, he gets the supporters' nod.

Perhaps the fans are remembering his magical late save to thwart Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in an Old Trafford clash last season.

Emmanuel Eboue should be switched to right back, allowing Kolo Toure to partner captain William Gallas with Philippe Senderos axed after his slack defending on Merseyside.

Gilberto Silva is the natural replacement for ankle injury victim Mathieu Flamini and there are starts for Theo Walcott, who dazzled as a substitute against Liverpool, and Robin van Persie in an attacking line-up.

United's fans obviously fear Rio Ferdinand will be sidelined, even though Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested the England defender is fit enough to play.

That would leave the fans nominating an unproven pairing of John O'Shea and Gerard Pique in the middle of the back four, something that would certainly make the home crowd nervous.

Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves, both in good form of late, squeeze out Paul Scholes and Park Ji-sung is rewarded for a couple of perky performances with a slot on the left ahead of veteran Ryan Giggs.

United fans want to see Carlos Tevez start in a two-pronged attack alongside Wayne Rooney with Cristiano Ronaldo playing on the right.

IFAN Manchester United team: Van der Sar; Brown, Evra, O'Shea, Pique; Ronaldo, Carrick, Hargreaves, Park; Rooney, Tevez.

IFan Arsenal team: Lehmann; Eboue, Clichy, Toure, Gallas; Walcott, Gilberto, Fabregas, Hleb; Van Persie, Adebayor.

Wenger - It's make or break

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Sunday's encounter versus Manchester United will make or break his side's season.

Wenger's men have suffered a torrid time in recent weeks, slipping away from the summit of the Premier League table, before, on Tuesday against Liverpool, exiting the UEFA Champions League.

"The season is not over. I believe what is at stake on Sunday is the work of the whole year," he said on Sky Sports News.

"Do you really think that we go to Manchester United on Sunday believing the season is over? That would be ridiculous.

"We have worked extremely hard since the first day of the season against all the odds.

"We will fight until the last second of the championship, especially on Sunday. If we win on Sunday then realistically we can win the title."

Ferguson claims Arsenal won't recover from their European exit

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Arsenal will struggle to recover from their dramatic Champions League exit and even the perfect finish to the season may not be enough for the Gunners to win the title.

The Manchester United manager was at Anfield for the epic clash with Liverpool on Tuesday and left early thinking Arsene Wenger's side had done enough to reach the semi-finals.

Ferguson said today: “It was a fantastic game [at Anfield] and the emotions of the game seesawed so much, it had everything.

“I left when it went to 2-2 because I thought Arsenal were through but I got down the stairs and Liverpool had a penalty. It's hard to recover from these things but we've got to look at ourselves and make sure we keep going.”

Ferguson stated last week he felt Chelsea were United's main rivals for the title and today reiterated that he thinks it will be extremely tough for Arsenal to overhaul his team.

In bullish mood after his side booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals with a midweek win over Roma, Ferguson said: “If we beat them, it makes it difficult for them, no question.

"But it's difficult anyway because they're six points behind us and three points behind Chelsea.

“With five games to go there's not a lot of leeway and they can't afford to drop anything really.

“But that doesn't make it any different in how we prepare because Arsenal games are always very competitive anyway.”

Ferguson believes that injuries to key players is the main reason for the Gunners' miserable run of just two wins in 12 matches, which started with a 4-0 defeat in the FA Cup at Old Trafford.

Some observers have pointed at that heavy defeat as the turning point in Arsenal's season but Ferguson disagrees.

He said: “I'm not sure how much of an effect that FA Cup game had. I think Arsenal have had injuries in the second half of the season that has made it difficult to rest players.

“They lost [Abou] Diaby, Denilson, [Tomas] Rosicky, [Robin] van Persie, and you can't win games consistently without your best team.

“You just can't do it, not at the level we're at and we suffered with that last season. You can't get the best results without your best players.”

Carrick: We'll be weary of wounded Gunners in Sunday's Old Trafford showdown

Michael Carrick believes Arsenal will be desperate to prove on Sunday they are not a spent force.

The Premier League is the sole piece of silverware the Gunners have left to aim for following their Champions League exit to Liverpool on Tuesday.

Manchester United midfielder Carrick said: "They will be right up for it and we face a real challenge.

"There is a lot at stake for both of us. We are aware that it will still be as tough as it would ever have been against them.

"But this is what you want to be involved in and the game on Sunday is massive."

Carrick added: "I am enjoying my football here and who wouldn't.

"We are involved in two competitions and in with a fighting chance in both of them.

"We have given ourselves a great chance in the league and done what we wanted to do in Europe."

Wenger - We believe we can win League too

Arsène Wenger insists Arsenal will not focus solely on the Champions League, despite their indifferent recent form in the title race.


The Gunners have slipped to third in the Premier League, six points behind leaders Manchester United. The mini-slump has led many to believe that Europe represents the Club’s only chance of silverware this season. Wenger, though, disagrees.


The Frenchman is keen to point out that while the figures favour United, the fixture list perhaps does not.


“It looks to me that Manchester United have six games to go and four of them are away from home,” said Wenger. “One time against us, and at Chelsea as well. So that depends, also, how committed teams are to play in every game.


“Some teams don't have a lot to go for — you could see that in Aston Villa, for example. Manchester United have the advantage, but they have a difficult schedule as well. It depends now on the last six games.


“We believe we can still win the title and that's not impossible.”

Wenger - We have enough bouncebackability

"Yeah, it's difficult and surprising," said the Arsenal manager when asked to recall the mauling at Manchester United. "But, overall, if you look at the games we lost this season: at Sevilla, we had already qualified; at Tottenham we were half-here, half-there, and at Man. United too. But I feel as well that Man United gave a top-class performance on Saturday and we were swept away. It can happen.

"They will bounce back, don't worry. I'm highly confident in the quality, the mental strength and the ambition of this team. Many people have written us off from the start of the season up to now and we have always responded well."

"Last year I feel the game against Chelsea in the Carling Cup Final created a big upset because we lost straight away three days later in the FA Cup," he said. "But we were without some players then.

"And last year we were in a much worse position in the Premier League, so we had to say 'listen, let's save what can be saved.'

"This year is completely different because we are attracted by two fantastic competitions. We are in a very good position."

No FA action for Gallas

Arsenal skipper will not be punished for kicking nani.


An FA spokesman said: "Having viewed the footage, the referee was not satisfied that it showed evidence of violent conduct and therefore no further action will be taken."


source:skysports

Man Utd V Arsenal

Man Utd 4-0 Arsenal 16th Feb Fa Cup 5th Round

Rooney 16
Fletcher 20,74
Nani 38

There is nothing to report from Arsenal fans point of view.
It was a shambolic performance to say the least.

No goals from Arsenal players :-(

You can read the match report here.

Wenger's reaction here.

Diaby - Old Trafford tie will not lack intensity

"I think we want to play well in every competition whether it's the FA Cup, the Champions League or the League," Diaby told Arsenal TV Online. "We want to win all of them because we are a big club and we want to win trophies. This Saturday is very important to us.

"Maybe a win will give us a psychological advantage. We just want to give our best and win the game."

Unfortunately, Diaby will not get a chance to make his mark in the FA Cup this weekend. The 21-year-old suffered a calf injury against Manchester City at the start of February.

"I took a kick around the ankle against Manchester City and my calf felt very stiff," explained Diaby. "I won’t make the match against Manchester United, but I hope to be back as soon as I can."