Like Arsene said, "If zey could score four, why can't we?"
Seems to me like your gaffer's going all out on this one. After defeating Spurs and Liverpool, Arsene definitely believes in miracles.
I suggest you do same

Disclaimer, huh. SMH.

That's some prayer, Coded. Amen all the way! LOL

Maybe Messi would say ''Aw, the United defense is so young. Lemme reduce the power of my shot so they can make their gaffer proud''.
Excuses, excuses.

Sure, guys, dips in form are allowed.
But first, we need to be honest and admit that there is a dip. Some are finding it incredibly painful to do so.

You can't get better till you recognize that something about you needs improvement.
Just want us to be honest about the team's issues instead of pretending they don't exist, after all, there is no perfect player/perfect team.

Tkb, based on Evra's recent performances, can you be sure that Evra will remain in position when he plays RM, Barca or Bayern?
Even if he goes forward, can you say with certainty that he will immediately return to his position at the back once his work is done up front?
How many times has he done that recently?

Evra is no longer as effective as he used to be as a left back and that's the honest truth.
He forgets that his primary assignment is the LB position too often for comfort.

sweetguy10:

Ehm , ehm , hmmm hnnnnn (clears throat) I heard that U̶̲̥̅̊я goal keeper stole doughnut , is that true ?

Nah. He just forgot to pay for it.

@Topic
Check Ando's game out today.
For the most part his passes were poor, his football thinking was dull, his timings were off and his miss was.  .  .well, it was Ando-esque.
When Fergie made the sub I fully expected it to be Chicharito and Ando.
Those were the two I wasn't feeling in the game.

Was surprised when Nani got subbed instead, but then I guess Fergie's soothsayer advised him to wait a bit before taking Ando off.

I give Rooney greater credit for having the sense to head the ball up into the middle, and then credit to Ando for getting his head on the end of it and finishing properly.
If he hadn't scored that goal, trust me, his game would have had nothing commendable about it today.

Fergie knew that Ando wasn't gonna give anything else after that goal, hence the sub. He had been poor for the greater part of the game.
Some ''soul'', huh.

Next, Valencia. If Fergie keeps playing him as a RB, he is gonna kill that dude's entire career.
Valencia is an attack-minded, strong and fast winger. Confining him to the back will do nothing but make his skills rusty.
He is even shaky as a RB, IMO.

@Doyin
My dear, some fans just type without proper long-term analysis.
To make it worse, they'd rather kiss Taribo West on the mouth than admit when they're wrong.

.  .  .says the dude who proclaimed the EPL would not start without United getting Sneijder.
Why did you see a need for him.  .  .to come replace the club mascot?

Not sorry to burst your bubble, but.  .  .Anderson is not the ''soul'' of the team and if he gets injured, United will NOT be screwed.
One of United's strengths still remains versatility.
If the squad didn't get ''screwed'' when Ronaldo left (Young wasn't here and Cleverly wasn't a regular, mind you), somehow I doubt any screwing will occur on account of Ando's absence. Ando has got sufficient and effective replacement if anything happened to him.

Next, the only thing the guys are blaming Rio for is his failure to correct the defenders who were misbehaving, considering his age, experience and former status as a captain.
No one has faulted his game on the night.
There is a difference, k?
Personally I still fault De Gea alone for that, though.

Finally, Evra would always bomb forward like Usain Bolt on steroids whether he plays Barca, RM or Bayern.
It seems to be his regular style of play these days.

De Gea thought the cashier would simply recognize him and send Fergie the bill.

@TKB
The team doesn't have to be in crises before the current problems get fixed.
Fact now is that United need to plug their leaky holes before the roof comes crashing down on their ears.

Rooney and Chicharito are back, thank God, but if the midfield stays weak and the defense doesn't hold together, it's gonna be a case of taking a step forward and a step backward immediately after.
United may get away with it in the EPL, but the UCL will definitely expose it and take advantage of it.

dayokanu:

Would that be a surprise? Be honest

At the moment, no, but that doesn't mean you should get carried away.

Going down is no crime. Staying down is, and United rarely stay down. Keep being afraid.

Ibime:

If ninjas wanna be honest, Jones was most culpable last night.

Unfortunately, we've got fans who would rather stick to typing nonsense than be honest and admit their poor vision.

Against Arsenal.  .  .8-2, yay, all nice and sweet.
But the team conceded two goals against a depleted side. Were defenders at fault? Definitely yes.

Against Chelsea.  .  .3-1. Nice.
But was United's defense suspect? Definitely yes.

Against Stoke.  .  .1-1.
I didn't see that game, but it raised questions in my mind.

Now, against Basel.  .  .3-3.
And a fan says United is fine??

Maybe it's when Bayern gives United 6-1 that some people will realize that if you don't get the rash on your d*ick checked out in time, you could end up shooting blanks for life.

@Chamo
I don't think anyone's blaming the entire performance of the team on Rio and Ando. It is a team, after all.
Player issues are being pointed out, and I don't see anything wrong with that.

Ando cannot fully control United's midfield and that's not based on last night's performance alone.
He is a good player and he plays with heart, but there is still room for improvement.
Do you disagree?

What the guys said about Rio is that being the most experienced defender last night, he should have called the others to order.
No one said 3 goals were conceded 'cos Rio played horribly.
Heck, Rio could have corrected the guys and the goals still would have been conceded, but then Rio would have done what he had the capacity to do.
But he didn't, and guys aren't happy about that.
Kinda like seeing evil and saying nothing about it when you can.

How that translates to blaming last night's performance squarely on Rio and Ando baffles me.

Admitting you have a problem is part of the solution.
When fans cannot be honest about their team's potential and kinetic problems, such fans are better off staying silent.

@DK
Calling your defenders to order is part of a goalkeeper's responsibility.
De Gea hasn't tried enough yet till he learns to do that.
I've seen enough goalies go ballistic when their defenders go to sleep. De Gea just stays indifferent.

Mr_TA:

Nothing De Gea would have done about yesterday's weakness in defense. That job was Ferdinand's. Rio is supposed to organise that defense no De Gea, no amount of screaming in tongues from DDG will change that.

Says who?
A goalkeeper is in charge of the net and his defenders are there to aid him in keeping the ball out of it.
If they are not doing what is necessary to achieve that, he needs to scream into their ears till they get the message.
Rio is supposed to organize the defense, okay, but say Rio gets injured 'n subbed, then what? He coaches from the sidelines??
Dude, that's the goalie's duty.

De Gea can't keep staying mute like he has no right to talk his defenders down. Forget age. A goalie's a goalie.

@StarBoard
It's another scary thing to consider.
Anderson's work rate isn't bad, but asking him to boss the midfield is a little too much.
He simply hasn't got the level of skill and creativity required to handle that for now.

I said it a lil' while ago. . .the UCL will expose United's defensive issues.
If Basel could effectively do it, it's kinda scary to imagine what teams like Bayern and RM will do. If United get that far.

Nothing more to add. . .montelik has properly hammered all the nails.

BTW, De Gea needs to get his English going, man up and boss his defense if Rio won't do it. It's mainly the goalie's job, after all.

Anderson simply had a crappy game on Sunday and it had nothing to do with Fletcher or anyone else.
His passes were poor, timings were off, general performance was sloppy.
If Fletcher was the problem, Anderson wouldn't have gotten subbed. Duh.

Right now I think United could be faced with a defense problem with time if Rio and Vidic don't get back. I've got full confidence in Phil Jones, but he is the only defender that I can say that about right now.
Evra is still a problem. Dude's away from his LB position half of the time. If he wants to become a midfielder he should just say so already.

A friend of mine said the UCL will expose United's current defense and I'm inclined to agree.
If AVB didn't lack complete understanding of his squad and if Torres' jinx wasn't at an all-time high, Chelsea could have won Sunday's game 'cos for me, they played better.
Their close marking was wow. Before they got rattled and abandoned it, that is.

Didn't see yesterday's game, but again, nice gamble by Ferguson. Dude has got creepy sight, I tell ya.

Evra is now reduced to erratic spurts of brilliance. Kinda sad, considering how dependable he used to be.

The win was beautiful and I had so much fun watching(apart from feeling sorry for Arsene); but I seriously hope Fergie is not taking dem youngsters into the UCL.
He'd be wise to field his first team regulars, for the most part. Ease the younger ones in very gradually.

This Arsenal was spineless but they could score twice.  .  .that keeps niggling at the back of my mind.

Krayola, wicked boi

I truly felt sorry for Arsene when Fergie didn't bother celebrating United's goals anymore.
Wait.  .  .celebrating? He didn't even smile.

On a good day Fergie celebrates goals as much as the next die-hard fan, but at a point he just sat there with arms folded. No expression.
He must have felt really bad for Arsene.

Okay.
Hearing the thing about him being able to play DM just made me think about the time United had all those injuries and Fergie drafted midfielders as defenders.
Could come in handy.

Fact is that De Gea is still jittery in front of goal, despite his showing good potential. Today's goal was similar to last week Sunday's.
His positioning is poor sometimes and his reflexes aren't as sharp as VDS's, though it's a huge comparison.
His lack of English really isn't helping. . .dude is not in charge at the back at all like he should be. Hez like some kinda invited guest, stands there without coordinating his defenders and stuff.
They really need to work out some communication strategy that will work for goalie and defenders.

Fergie will keep starting him in games though, till De Gea makes a major blunder. I just hope the boi gets better before that happens.

With Phil Jones, Rio won't really be missed. I hear the dude is also a good DM. If that's true, Fergie indeed bought well.

@Ruudie
You saw Vidic too. Thanks.
I was so impressed with Fergie when he simply replaced Rio and Vidic at half time. Both men kept making silly mistakes and unnecessarily exposing the goalie.

@DK
Yeah, you're right. Just checked.
I'm surprised.  .  .dude looked kinda small. And VDS is 6''5. Berba needs to feed De Gea whatever he ate during the summer break.

@Chamo
Come on, Vidic was gaping at Dzeko's feet instead of doing his job seconds before the second goal happened.
Problem I had with De Gea there was that he had time to see the ball coming yet his reflexes were too slow to stop it. There wasn't anything spectacular about the shot.

He wasn't entirely responsible for the 2nd goal.  .  .I give Vidic 46 percent share as well.

Guys, ease up on De Gea already and acknowledge that he had a poor defense in the first half.
His back 4 left him wide open when he trusted them not to.
I don't think it's fair to give him 100 percent blame, considering he is kinda less experienced than his defenders.

Goalies shouldn't make mistakes like he made in 1st half, but I think we should cut him some slack considering it was his first game of the season per se, and especially considering he had a crappy defense, not to mention the MF.
Vida and Rio should go apologize to the guy sef.
David James was an okay goalie but the horrible Pompey defense back then made him look terrible.

De Gea was steadier in the 2nd half. . .and he did have an improved back line and midfield.
And as observed above, his attacking passes when he releases the ball are awesome. My friend that watched the game with me called him an attacker.

I'm so on the David de Gea team. Dude's got great potential. Wish he were taller though. Hez kinda small.
Speaking of which, did anyone notice Berba's gotten muscular? Nice. Too bad the extra muscle may just slow his pace even more.

Nasri can never fill Cesc's boots. . .if he stays.
This thread is pretty depressing. Poor Arsenal

Definitely gonna be a rocky start to the season.

Which EPL manager has got Fergie's kinda cahones?
His two main defenders were screwing up and he took 'em right out without stopping to think about it.

How Vidic and Rio let Lescott's long head come between them is way beyond me!
Second goal, Vida was admiring Dzeko's boots. Wonder what got into them.
They left De Gea wide open and the poor boy couldn't help but fumble. He had little defensive help in the first half so I can't blame him much for the goals.
The midfield was softer than an overripe banana in the first half too. Those City guys have gotta be on steroids.

All in all, United brought all the skill on that pitch today. All City brought was really cool muscle and brawn.
Guess it's safe to say they got their goals 'cos United's middle was messed up, defenders were asleep and goalie was less than composed.
Mancini has still got a lot of work to do getting those guys to blend well together. You don't build a real team in a day.

As for Nani, totally bossed that third goal. Easy to forgive him for his horrible passes and more horrible crosses.
Really don't know what Carrick is still doing starting games for United.

Loved Silva's boots, BTW. Very colorful.

ritchboy:

Clichy hat-trick!

Sure.  .  .and he'll concede all three before 90 minutes are up, the Arsenal way

ritchboy:

Igor, SHE'S ALIVE!!!!

Or someone stole her password

Emperoh:


Need a welcome party?

Nah.  .  .not required

Thought we'd be discussing the Community Shield up in here. Abi you guys don't plan to watch?
Personally I'm wondering how Mancini plans to effectively juggle all the hot boots hez got lined up and dying for action.

The traditional curtain-raiser to the season will see two of the sides expected to lead the top flight title charge in 2011/12 go head-to-head at Wembley.
Local pride and silverware will be at stake on Sunday, while both teams will want to put down an early marker ahead of what promises to be a hugely competitive campaign.

Manchester City:

Manchester City will be without Carlos Tevez this weekend, having granted him an extended break.
The Argentine striker, who has spent much of the summer trying to secure a move away from Eastlands, is not due back at training until Monday.
His absence could pave the way for his fellow countryman Sergio Aguero to make his bow for the Blues.
City have spent big on the former Atletico Madrid frontman and he could get an early opportunity to start repaying his £38million transfer fee.
Fellow summer recruits Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic could also figure at Wembley, as Roberto Mancini is expected to name a strong starting XI.

Manchester United:

His opposite number, Sir Alex Ferguson, may decide to rest a number of his stars ahead of the start of the new Premier League season.
Manchester United have had a busy pre-season, including a game against the New York Cosmos on Friday, and will be wary of asking too much of their key men.
There is, however, every chance that big-money arrivals Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David de Gea will play some part against City.
Ferguson has confirmed that he will definitely be without three senior stars on Sunday.
Michael Carrick is nursing a tight Achilles, Rafael picked up a slight knock in a clash with Barcelona last weekend and Javier Hernandez is still two to three weeks away from a return after suffering a concussion during United's recent tour of the United States.

[url=http://www.skysports.com/football/match_preview/0,19764,11065_3403311,00.html]sky sports[/url]

Sneijder coming in, Nani/Berba/Vidic leaving are still rumors, which always persist as we all know.

Dunno why y'all still chew Tylenol when there are no real aches yet

rasputinn:

Where have you been Crizzle,IT IS 2012  

Limaoscar:

Arses I hope folks will hear word in naija this week,  

Enjoy now till part 2 at Nou camp and congrats btw

Sadly, we all know the answer to that.  .  .
We're not gonna hear anything else till the return leg. It's the only reason I don't like Arsenal winning matches like this one.

chamotex:

Wilshere has been fantastic tonight.
Arsenal players wan die for pitch

Well, no one expected them to win. The most I expected was a draw.
Impressive fight from the Arses. Barca relaxed too soon.

Gosh, hear the shouts outside.  .  .it's like it's 2012 already.
Guess there might be fireworks soon.

nateevs:


You play chess Criz?

Yeah. Great mental exercise, next to Sudoku.

rasputinn:

@ Native

Arsene is GOD to you,bow down

For real? lol

Two games where you never relax till it's over.  .  .football and chess.

The Arshavin-Song sub is the best idea Arsene and I have had concerning this game.