The past few weeks have eroded a bit of that 'big four' status from Arsenal but in my eyes, they remain one of those few teams that can come to Old Trafford and win regardless of the state of their club, for the simple reason that they've done it before.
Manchester United will not be adding any new players to their squad according to David Gill which means that we'll have to tighten our seat belts with the players we have and hope that they see us through the first half of the season with little or no damage to our title hopes. So far, so good but you're only as good as your last result, and much as this young team has been praised by all (except Jamie Redknapp), you can be sure that the same media Will tear them apart at the very instant they lose a game. Just a quick reminder here; the English media builds you up to bring you down. Its because of that that I hope that the young lads will not fade when the going gets tough on them. I'm sure Sir Alex has let them in on how success is not just expected at the club but demanded and the consequences of failure.
It remains to be seen for how long the manager will stick to his young squad but I think we shall get that answer this weekend. In all probability, Rio Ferdinand could start on Sunday meaning that one of Evans or Jones will have to make way. Then there is the return of smiling assassin Javier Hernandez that is surely going to relegate Danny Welbeck to the bench. Darren Fletcher is in the squad for the visit of Le Arse so that means Ando and Cleverly might not just be sure starters on Sunday. If they are picked over Fletcher, then they also have the hurdle of Park and Giggs for that central position. It was easy for the manager to leave out Park and Giggs for the opening two games for the simple reason that the opposition didn't require a major application of the tactical formations and all but you do have a feeling that Arsenal will provide the manager with the kind of test that will ensure that they pack the midfield a little more---in a formula that has seen us beat them on almost every occasion in the past few years.
Fans could point to the injury and suspension problems of the Gunners as incentive to keep it 4-4-2 but that could be unwise given that Arsene Wenger's teams usually benefit from less tactical games. I mean Kenny Dalglish last week was not about to be fooled by his opponent's weaknesses at the Emirates and chose to keep it tight until Arsenal were caught between frustration and fatigue. He opened up just in time to kill off the game and see it out.
It wouldn't therefore surprise me for Fergie to go for experience in this one, as the nature of the fixture requires so.
If the Gunners do live up to their supposed weakness on paper, then it would help that we kill off the game as soon as possible to save my finger nails the trouble.
SO COME ON UNITED!
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