The guests of honour at Arsenal on Saturday evening were
the stars of hit movie 'Dumb and Dumber To' - and they
seemed to serve as inspiration for the players as they
performed their own comedy show.
Even a great comedian like Jim Carrey would struggle to
script a goal as farcical as Manchester United’s second-half
opener, a strike thoroughly in keeping with the lack of quality
in the game.
As Ashley Young drifted in a cross from the left in the 56th
minute, Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny crashed in to
team-mate Kieran Gibbs and the ball fell to Antonio Valencia
on the right side of the penalty area.
The Ecuadorian smashed the ball across goal, vaguely in the
direction of the corner flag, but it struck Gibbs on the shin and
flashed into the far corner.
Even the United players looked embarrassed as they
celebrated before Szczesny added the finishing touch to the
scene by limping off with bruised ribs. Or was it bruised
pride?
When Wayne Rooney sealed United's victory with a lovely
dinked finish five minutes from time, it was greeted by the
sound of thousands of seats clattering upwards as home fans
left to beat the traffic.
Those that did remain in the stadium did so primarily so
make sure that the Arsenal players and Arsene Wenger could
hear their displeasure on the full-time whistle. The boos duly
came despite a late rally as Olivier Giroud slammed in a goal
on his return from a broken foot.
In front of the press box, one fan held up a neatly printed A4
sheet reading 'Enough is enough - Wenger Out'. It was hardly
the most creative of homemade banners but the anger is
growing day by day, game by game.
This result leaves Arsenal down in eighth in the Premier
League table with just 17 points from 12 matches. What has
happened to the Gunners kicking on after May's FA Cup
triumph? They have now made their worst start to a season
since 1982.
The question now is whether or not Wenger will even last the
season after a game that summed up just how far both clubs
have fallen since the the peak of their great rivalry at the start
of the century.
Against a back three of Chris Smalling and teenagers Tyler
Blackett and Paddy McNair, Arsenal would have expected to
carve open the visitors and show that they have the capacity
to beat a top side.
They created the chances - certainly in the first half - but were
denied by some poor decision-making, awful finishing and
some smart goalkeeping from David de Gea. United were
there for the taking, crippled by injuries, yet somehow they
ended up walking away with all three points.
Arsenal fell into United's trap, just as they did in defeat to
Swansea City in their previous fixture. For so many years,
Wenger has failed to adapt, failed to show tactical acumen or
to change games with his substitutions. It's been more
'Invisibles' than 'Invincibles'.
Louis van Gaal set up his team to sit deep and threaten on
the counterattack. After the opener, the visitors looked
dangerous with almost every break and should have scored
more, especially when Angel Di Maria raced through but
clipped the ball wide.
"It is an important victory – we weathered the storm at times
especially in the first half and we knew we could hit them on
the counterattack when they're vulnerable on the break and
we did that," United captain Rooney told Sky Sports .
"We rode our luck at times and our goalkeeper was fantastic
for us today. We scored two goals – it was a different game –
to hit them on the break was our gameplan and it worked."
It is the gameplan for just about every side who come here
but Wenger did not have an answer, while his squad remains
desperately short of defensive cover despite the €200 million
cash reserves in the club's bank. It is an embarrassment that
a club like Arsenal should be playing Nacho Monreal at
centre-back.
There was more bad news for Wenger with the ankle injury
that forced off Jack Wilshere in the second half - but any
excuses or self-pity from the Frenchman will be given short
shrift by the club's fans.
They want a team who can compete for the Premier League
title - but already they are 15 points behind leaders Chelsea.
And just how much longer can Wenger's comedy show be
allowed to go on?