THINKING ALOUD AFTER THE ARSENAL GAME...


So United have failled to register a win against any of their title rivals on foriegn territory--surely it can't be that bad, can it? I mean let the pundits start yapping when we fail to win against them in our ow backyard. Getting a win against Liverpool last season at Anfield does not mean that United will win there every season. A defeat at the Emirates is not something to worry so much about because it's not one of those results you automatically expect.
It's incredible what a result can do for a team in the space of a week. Last week, the press was all over Wenger when his side lost to Stoke City. Some fans even questioned Wenger's policies for the first time in 12 years! And yet after yesterday's result, suddenly Arsenal are out of crisis and can now win the title. The truth is, it's still early days as far as this title is concerned. United have now played all their rivals away from home already and are realistically 5 points off the top( plus the game in hand). That cannot be cause for concern as we still have to play each of them at OT in a period when United are traditionally in fifth gear. So the points gap is not worth talking about anymore.
Now Garry Neville is clearly past his best and there were one or two signs that told so at the Emirates yesterday. It's not that he had an unfortunate hand in Arsenal's goal rather that the impact Rafael made on a substitute overshadowed 80 minutes' work. He already has to contest the right back slot with Brown but I should think that he should be kept out of the fast paced games--such as encounters against teams that play the Arsenal way. Not that Fergie had a choice today as we would have raised eyebrows if the youngster had started.
It will be interesting to see how Fergie handles the whole affair.

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