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It was hardly the classic it was built up to be, but Manchester United continued their recent domination of Arsenal at Old Trafford, picking up their 8th win in 10 meetings courtesy of an outstanding header from South Korean superstar Park Ji-Sung in the 41st minute. United dominated the game, and really should have added to their 1-0 scoreline, but a missed penalty from Wayne Rooney coupled with some outstanding saves from rookie Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny ensured the contest stayed very much alive till the final whistle. The win takes the Red Devils back to the top of the Premier League Table, two points clear of Arsenal, who remain second. United though do have a game in hand over the chasing pack.

Sir Alex Ferguson stuck to what usually works against Arsenal, leaving out 5 goal hero Dimitar Berbatov from his starting eleven and sticking with a five man midfield. Wayne Rooney led the line as the sole striker, while a claustrophobic midfield that comprised Anderson, Carrick, Park, Fletcher and Nani aimed to match Arsenal for numbers in the middle of the park. The Manchester United bench also held Giggs and Berbatov in reserve, with the only notable exclusion being the veteran midfielder Paul Scholes.

Arsenal’s surprise came in the inclusion of young Polish keeper Wojciech·Szczesny, making his Premier League debut for the Gunners following a late leg injury to Lukasz Fabianski, who interestingly though was still named on the bench. Arsenal too went with a five man midfield with Tomas Rosicky the focal point of the central triumvirate, also including Alex Song and Jack Wilshere. Samir Nasri and Andrey Arshavin occupied their usual wide roles with Marouane Chamakh deployed as the lone striker. Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas and talismanic forward Robin van Persie were part of a star studded bench, with Arsene Wenger declaring before hand that he hoped to get 25-30 minutes out of his skipper if required.

Manchester United dominated the first half, reducing the Gunners to just 1 shot on target and 3 in total. The Arsenal midfield were completely outhustled by an energetic display from Anderson and Park in particular. There were plenty of niggly challenges to begin with, the Gunners appearing rather desperate to make United defender Patrice Evra eat his words about this being a game between men and boys. Alex Song cut a lonely figure trying to keep United's midfield from running the show, while Gael Clichy was left overexposed against the tricky Nani, with no cover whatsoever being provided by Arshavin.

United had some early shots on goal, but they were largely catching practice for young·Szczesny, who showed good positional awareness and safe hands. Arsenal's only noteworthy effort of the half was a diving header from Chamakh on a nothing cross, but sadly from Arsenal's perspective it went straight to Edwin van der Sar. United's best chance came on the 20th minute mark when Nani was the fortunate recipient of Sebastien Squillaci's downward header from a Darren Fletcher cross. The Portuguese winger took his chance first time, and was unfortunate that it zipped inches wide of the far post.

United grew more and more adventurous as the half progressed, and their movement in midfield was a joy to behold. Players were popping up out of position on a regular basis, leaving the Gunners often caught out, having to mark too many players in a narrow part of the pitch. One such move led to the opening goal as Nani's cross was deflected into the 6-yard box off Gael Clichy's outstretched leg, and Park adjusted his body brilliantly to guide the ball wide and just above a diving Szczesny.

Arsenal picked up a couple of late bookings at the end of the half as Chamakh and Arshavin were introduced to the referee's notebook, and Arsene Wenger needed to change something urgently if the Gunners were going to make a contest out of this game.·

Arsenal had their best spell of possession early in the second half, but were almost caught on the counter as Rooney escaped the attentions of three defenders and managed to nick the ball through to Anderson. Szczesny, though did brilliantly to make himself big at the feet of the Brazilian and block his effort. Right back up at the other end, Van der Sar was called in to making a save from Samir Nasri's long range effort, and though Chamakh did get to the rebound first, a sliding Nemanja Vidic blocked his goal bound plod. A little bit more composure and Chamakh could have probably dinked the ball comfortably over the Serbian defender. Arsenal were finally becoming more fluid in midfield with Nasri trying desperately to get involved in the game by coming into the center.

United continue to attack on the counter and there was a sense of deja vu around, with the Gunners looking prime candidates to concede again. Nani found himself in an excellent scoring opportunity just before the hour mark, but his chipped effort went just above the goal. 

With the game getting stretched Arsene Wenger finally showed his hand, bringing on arguably the two best substitutes possible in the Premier League - Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, for Rosicky and a tiring Wilshere respectively. The changes though appeared to be counter productive as the Gunners lost what little edge they had built up in the second half, and failed to create anything of note in a vital 10 minute spell in the middle of the second half.

United were the fortunate recipients of a penalty as the linesman believed that Gael Clichy's accidental ball to hand incident, when sliding in to deny Nani crossing, was deliberate. However, the Gunners were to get a major reprieve as Wayne Rooney blazed his spot kick high, wide and exceptionally ugly!

In a last throw of the dice Arsenal brought on Theo Walcott for Arshavin for the last quarter of an hour. Arsenal went on all-out attack mode, but with nine men behind the ball, United looked impossible to break down. Rooney the lone man keeping the Arsenal defenders busy, had another great chance to seal the game for the home side, but his deft chip was palmed away from goal by Szczesny, who had an outstanding debut in between the sticks for the Gunners.

Arsenal never really regained that early second half edge, and Walcott had one good last effort for the Gunners, but blazed his 93rd minute first time chance high. Arsenal will be disappointed with their performance tonight, lacking energy in the first half, and a cutting edge in the second. Fabregas was visibly short of match fit, while Van Persie appeared clueless about where he was supposed to play when he came on. The only positive to come out of the game for the Gunners was the performance of young Szczesny, who definitely looks capable of maturing into a world class keeper. It appears Arsene Wenger has not only unearthed another gem, but also a vital one in what has been a problem position for Arsenal. Amazingly, though should Manchester United slip up next weekend against Chelsea and Arsenal beat Stoke, they could be top of the league again.

United on the other hand will be on a high with Sir Alex once again producing a match winning show against his old nemesis. His player selection and tactics were the real winners today, and despite the absence of perhaps as many match winners on the pitch as Arsenal, United showed that with the perfect mix of graft, skill and desire, it is easy to come out on top.

Teams:

Man Utd (4-5-1): Van der Sar (gk), Rafael Da Silva, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson (Giggs 85'), Nani, Park, Rooney.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Szczesny (gk), Sagna, Squillaci, Koscielny, Clichy, Song, Rosicky (Fabregas 64'), Wilshere (Van Persie 64'), Nasri, Chamakh, Arshavin (Walcott 77').

Final Scoreline: Manchester United 1-0 Arsenal (Ji-Sung Park 41')

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File Photograph Copyright: Magnus D

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