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The rivalry between Manchester United and Arsenal has been the essence of Premier League over the years. From the Battles of Old Trafford to the Pizzagate scandal, no stone was left unturned to have a one up over each other.
Tonight, the rivalry was brought back to life to a certain extent as both the teams are (sadly) competing for Champions League qualification and not the title, like yesteryears. It was a hard fought draw for Arsenal and disappointment for United. Nevertheless, here are the five talking points from this titanic clash at Old Trafford.
Ashley Young’s continued revival
He was an outcast in Manchester just over 15 months ago and now he is the darling of Stretford End. Ashley Young has revived himself in just four months after three acrimonious seasons at United.
He has arguably been Manchester United’s best player since the turn of the year and has been extremely influential in the last five games by being directly involved all five goals scored in these games. He has got back his mojo, which earned him the move to north-west. The Englishman is not scared to take anyone on and is getting past everyone with relative ease. His innate ability to get past the defenders and put that scrumptious ball in the box has what catapulted him to demagogue status at the Theatre of Dreams.
He put two back to back Man of the Match performances, with the one today against Arsenal being his best of the lot. His overall presence in the game was inescapable. The former Aston Villa man was truly the best United player on pitch as he gave a young Hector Bellerin a torrid time throughout the 90 minutes. He is certainly making the Old Trafford faithful and the former United no.18 proud with his performances in the recent past.
Gunners’ still haunted by Old Trafford hoodoo
Arsenal may have been Manchester United’s fiercest rivals in Premier League era, but their recent past in red half of Manchester is nothing to boast of. Not just their recent record, in fact Old Trafford has been their least favoured hunting ground in Premier League era. The Gunners have just won three games at Old Trafford.
Arsene Wenger and his boys were dismal tonight as well. It took them 60 minutes to land a first shot on goal speaks volumes about their performance. To say they were lucky to come away with a point tonight would not be an understatement. Barring Aaron Ramsey, others were fairly lacklustre.
Manchester United completely bossed their visitors for major part of the game as they pegged them down for large swathes of the tie. After four consecutive defeats, a draw must be a respite for Wenger but there are still many questions are unanswered.
Chris Smalling with the armband
Everyone was completely taken aback when Louis van Gaal announced his team for this high profile clash. No, the buzz was not due to Radamel Falcao’s return to the starting line-up but the choice of his captain for this game.
Chris Smalling was declared as the captain of Manchester United. Yes! This was Smalling’s moment of glory as the former Fulham defender was at the centre stage in one of the biggest games of the season. Louis van Gaal defended his decision to hand the captain’s armband to a defender who not so long ago was considered a liability at United. The Dutch coach said that he sees a leader of defence in Smalling,
"I have watched and observed Chris Smalling," the Dutchman explained.
"I shall name a captain as a human being, not only a player who passes from A to B but how you deal with your players. I believe he has been a leader of our defence."
This is definitely a big step up for the Englishman who was recently awarded a new long term contract. And for all those curious souls who missed the game, United’s new captain led from front as he didn’t disappoint with his performance and also marshalled his troops fairly well.
Victor Valdes graces Old Trafford, finally!
The former Barcelona legend finally made his competitive debut after his career threatening injury suffered last season. Although, he would have hoped for a more formal debut but nonetheless the Spaniard replaced his compatriot in 74th minute with a warm applause.
The Spain international put up a decent show for 20 odd minutes he played for the first team. He was bit unlucky to concede a spook goal as Tyler Blackett’s deflection gave Arsenal the much needed equaliser and a hope to get a positive result.
With the reports of De Gea’s exit picking up by the each passing minute, it remains to be seen whether Victor Valdes can repay the faith shown by Louis van Gaal. He certainly has the quality to fill in for his fellow stopper but whether he can sustain it over a long and gruelling season is what remains to be seen.
He is one of the most decorated goalkeepers in the world; it is now up to Louis van Gaal and his team, whether to trust Valdes with the responsibility or to get a world class reinforcement at Old Trafford.
A sombre farewell to David De Gea?
The buzz in British and Spanish press regarding David De Gea’s big money move to Real Madrid is simply deafening. Marca and other Spanish dailies have blown the trumpet that their boy is returning home. Both the player and the club have been mum about this which has only added more fuel to the fire.
Tonight, David De Gea probably played his last game at Old Trafford in the red and whites. But the 24 year old Spaniard had a pretty sombre farewell as he hobbled off the pitch with a hip injury. The former Atletico Madrid star has been Manchester United’s best player for past couple of seasons by some distance.
Louis van Gaal’s quotes in the post match interview were hardly encouraging. The Dutchman for the first time openly revealed something on De Gea’s future.
‘He has the chance to go to another great club,’ he told Sky. ‘He is Spanish. His girlfriend is Spanish. But he shall not leave easily, because we have a great club.’
If he stays its good for him as well as Manchester United but if he leaves which is more likelier scenario at the moment, he deserved a better send off than today.
