Manchester United will hope Cristiano Ronaldo in on target while Arsenal’s fortunes will depend on Emmanuel Adebayor’s prowess upfront in today’s clash.
Manchester United will hope Cristiano Ronaldo in on target while Arsenal’s fortunes will depend on Emmanuel Adebayor’s prowess upfront in today’s clash. If the Red Devils slip it will allow Chelsea to close the gap while a loss will end Gunners’ title hopes
MANCHESTER: The feud which once simmered between Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger has long since come off the boil, but the Manchester United manager would still find it hard to suppress a smile if he inflicted a final ignominy on his old rival on Sunday.
Meetings between these two English Premier League giants always quicken the pulse, but it is no exaggeration to state that Arsenal travel to Old Trafford in disarray.
A season which once promised to be Wenger’s finest since taking over in north London in 1996 has collapsed around him in the last 10 weeks, during which his side has been knocked out of both domestic cup competitions and seen their hopes of winning back the league title all but extinguished.
Last Tuesday’s late Champions League heartbreak at Liverpool represented perhaps the most grievous blow to Wenger, who now faces a Herculean task in restoring morale ahead of the daunting trip to United. Defeat would effectively end Arsenal’s title challenge and, given the memories of the 4-0 FA Cup thrashing in February are still painfully fresh, Wenger would be forgiven travelling north in trepidation.
Arsenal’s players have at least attempted to put on a brave face as they confront D-Day and, if Emmanuel Adebayor is to be believed, Wenger still retains the faith of the dressing room.
“We have the boss to lift us,” he said. “He will talk about that for sure. We will meet at the training ground and he will tell us what to do. He has more experience than anyone here and he knows the words to use so that we can come back on the pitch, be more successful and want it more.
“The most important thing now is to stay focused on what we can achieve this season. We are still playing for the title and we still believe we can win something at the end of the season. We were so close to the Champions League semifinals but football decided it the other way. As a player, these things are very difficult to take but it is better now to focus on the game on Sunday. It will be another big game for us and we will see what we can do.”
Arsenal’s problem is how to ruffle the United side who currently have the confident strut and swagger of champions-elect. United might have stumbled slightly at Middlesbrough last week but such results remain anomalies.
With nearest rivals Chelsea facing the treacherous prospect of two games in four days next week, it is even possible United’s trip to Stamford Bridge later this month will be largely irrelevant.
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