ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Manchester Utd 0 Arsenal 0: MANCHESTER UNITED saved the sparkle for afterwards. Fans may have appreciated the fireworks as the Premier League trophy was presented, because there had been no pyrotechnics in the game itself.
With the exception of the Arsenal supporters, everyone had craved the full-time whistle. Home supporters wanted the side to hold on to the necessary point and neutrals just yearned for the referee, Mike Dean, to put a stop to a hollow match.
It could be argued that the anxiety inside Old Trafford was extending a heritage of histrionics. The match programme on Saturday even contained a supplement recalling the agonising glories of 10 years ago. Then the team had to rally from 1-0 behind when victory over Tottenham was essential to take the Premier League title ahead of Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger’s team were eager but blunt until they caused a stir near the end with Cesc Fabregas’s drive off the outside of the post. United, in any case, had a fixture at Hull left if they still needed to tie up the title. Phil Brown’s side have not had a league win at the KC Stadium since beating Middlesbrough on December 6th.
United’s horror of a meaningful game there would have been concerned with the disruptive effects on preparations for the Champions League final with Barcelona three days later. These are the rarefied circumstances in which Alex Ferguson has installed United for the time being. Anyone seeking signs that they can be denied a fourth consecutive title will have been ambivalent about Saturday’s match.
Arsenal, who had five men booked, exuded a desire to show they will not go on being the also-rans they have been since taking the FA Cup in 2005, but their shortcomings were as apparent as ever. With Emmanuel Adebayor absent because of a groin strain, Robin van Persie confirmed that he is not a natural centre-forward. Should Adebayor be sold, it will be a test for Wenger to come up with another attacker who scores regularly.
Apart from that, it is commonplace for Arsenal fans to argue that it is essential to get a centre-half and a holding midfielder who are dominant in those areas. Some who much appreciate Andrey Arshavin’s gifts also wonder if it made sense for Wenger to use €16.8 million of his limited funds on the little Russian attacker when there were more pressing issues to be addressed. While Arsenal are just a few players short of excellence the vacancies, down the spine of the team, are tough ones to fill.
United are living in a sunny spell and possess just about everything they need. With the Old Trafford club about to equal Liverpool’s total of 18 League titles, it was easy to see why Rafael Benitez chose to play to the Anfield gallery last week with his suggestion that United are not necessarily the best team.
That was the Spaniard’s way of reminding everyone that Liverpool had beaten them home and away. In their league fixtures with the rest of the top four Ferguson’s team have had only one victory, against Chelsea. In the different context of the Champions League, United would show their superiority with the harrowing of Arsenal.
Benitez’s line of argument is, intrinsically, ridiculous. What procedure could be more rigorous than 20 sides meeting one another home and away over 10 months? The Liverpool manager can fault United, but he has explaining to do for his own side’s wavering in January, when they drew three consecutive matches.
Progress has been made at Anfield and they are a little nearer to supplanting Ferguson’s team. Even so, the reigning champions are adept at working to slender margins. United have often won by a hair’s breadth in their melodramatic history, but the difference in modern times is that they virtually do it on purpose. This is an outstanding line-up and, with few members approaching the end of their careers, these footballers may well go down as the greatest in the club’s history. The case might be unanswerable if the Champions League is retained.
United, all the same, will never be content and nor, come to that, will their fans. They even booed Ferguson on Saturday for bringing on the industrious Park Ji-sung for the attacker Carlos Tevez. The Argentinian had a poor afternoon, when his dynamism had scant purpose or effect. If United will not pay a further €24.7 million for him, with €11 million already laid out, that stance looked rational at the weekend.
When Ferguson next showed caution, in stoppage time, with Anderson taking over from Wayne Rooney, there was appreciation for the frittering away of a handful of moments. The manager and his squad neglected to lay on an extravaganza. Instead, they settled for displaying the prudent tactics, the efficiency and the steely character that makes them formidable.
Guardian Service
