And 1 point more...

With the derby against Manchester City emphatically taken care off as well as the trip down to the JJB Stadium, Manchester United need 1 point from their remaining two games to win the Premier league for the 11th time and the English First Division championship for the 18th time, equaling the record of rivals Liverpool in the process.

A convincing 2-0 win over City on Sunday and a come from behind 2-1 win against Steve Bruce's Wigan on Wednesday night, mean that United could be champions on Saturday with at least a draw against Arsenal at Old Trafford. If they were to achieve this it will only be the second time in all of their 11 BPL championships when they have won the league playing in front of their home fans. The last time they did this was in the record breaking season of '99. With this season looking to be a repeat of the Treble performance from '99, that feat looks set to be achieved again.

With Carlos Tevez being linked with a move away from United in the summer because of the Red Devils' apparent hesitancy to cough up around 30 million pounds to make his loan deal permanent, the two crucial goals he scored in these 2 games increases the pressure on Sir Alex Ferguson to keep this fan favourite at Old Trafford. If Tevez were to score another goal in Saturday's game against Arsenal, the striker's form might also pose Ferguson with a dilemma heading into the Champions League final at Rome on May 28th against Barcelona. Does he leave out record signing Dimitar Berbatov and deploy Tevez, the talismanic Wayne Rooney and the world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo up front? Or does he leave both Tevez and Berbatov out and go for a more conservative approach? At the end of this long winding season I'm just glad that its someone like Sir Alex who is at the helm to make such a crucial decision.

Arsenal game preview:

The two embarrassing defeats in the Champions League semis will still be fresh in the minds of the Arsenal players and fans. United should take advantage of the shell shocked Arsenal players who also lost at home to Chelsea last weekend. Ferguson would not also want his team to
loose their current rich vein of form ahead of the mouth watering clash against Barcelona in less than 2 weeks time. Wrapping up the championship against Arsenal also means that Ferguson will be able to rest all his stars at Hull next Sunday, 3 days ahead of the Champions League final. Given all this impetus plus the joy of winning in front of their home fans against old rivals Arsenal, I would expect United to go looking for a win and get just that!

Barcelona hit by injuries:

Already missing Daniel Alves and Abidal due to suspension and Gabby Milito and Rafael Marquez due to injury, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola got an added scare as Andres Iniesta, who scored the valuable goal deep into extra time against Chelsea in the 2nd leg of the semis, limped off with what appears to be a recurrence of an earlier thigh injury in the weekend game against Villareal. Iniesta and Thierry Henry, who picked up a ligament injury against Real Madrid a week earlier, both face a tough battle to be ready for the Champions League final. This could largely hamper Barcelona's challenge for the Champions League title.

If you're a Red Devil n u know it clap ur hands!

In my other posts on this blog I have tried to be as objective as possible... Not qriting biased one-sided passionate fan posts... But over the course of my studies on international journalism, I have come to understand that objectivity in reporting has never really existed... So what the hell... Unleashing the true Red Devil inside me...

3-1 Man United!... 4-1 on aggregate! As Gary Bloom (SBS commentator) put it, 'It was not men against boys, it was CHAMPIONS against boys'!... United's first ever win at the Emitates stadium and in what style... 2-0 up inside 10 minutes... 3-0 up after an awesome counter-attack early in the second half... If the only thing United did wrong at Old Trafford a week back was fail to take their chances, they definitely corrected that today!... The only tinge of regret... the only black mark, was the sending off of Darren Fletcher for a last man tackle on Cesc Fabregas, in which Fletcher clearly got to the ball first, yet got penalised. Van Persie scored from the penalty and got Arse-nal a thoruoghly undeserved consolation goal.

There was a lot of talk in the press from Wenger before the game about 'not leaving with any regrets'. Well... I guess Le Prof understood today just how far his kids have to 'mature' before they can step onto the pitch with United. For United though this performance away from home can very well be compared with that of the 7-1 drubbing of Roma two years back. The coreline may not be that emphatic but when you keep in mind that the entire game was played only with one striker on the pitch at any given point of time and that the game was at the Emirates against Arsenal, it throws into light the magnanimity of the acheivement. 

          

The atmosphere early on in the game wass terrific really with all those red and white Arsenal flags and shit... I guess most of those flags will remain in dumpsters in and around the ground as the poor idiots who support Arsenal try to forget this night for ever! But one thing is for certain... I'm not gonna let u forget it that easily!

Reviewing the player performances:

Almunia - Wenger made comments in the press after the first leg that Almunia is the best 'keeper in England! Come on!... The freekick of Ronaldo clearly showed that he is a mistake-prone at best, horrible at worst 'keeper! With Wenger saying Almunia should get English citizenship and get into the England team... am I glad that that won't happen...

Gibbs - In a facebook thread between Arsenal and Man U supporters that I'm a part of, some1 mentioned a 'dream' scenario in which Gibbs lands Ronaldo on his back, gallops forward and passes 2 Bendtner 2 score.... Well all I can say is Gibbs' butt and the Emirates turf have a unique understanding... one that let Park score the 1st goal of the game! :D

Djourou - Like in the 1st game Djourou must have though he was on the bench I guess... He sure did a looot of watching the game than doing anything about it!

Toure - Yaya Toure has recently come out and said he wants his bro at Barca... After this performance Arsenal will be glad to see him go...only prob would be that Barca won't take him! :P

Sagna - The only piece of skill Sagna showed in the match was when he caught the ball from falling to the ground over the touchline sometime in the first half. He then proceeded to throw it nicely as well... Maybe he should try cricket coz football is definitely not his cup of tea...

Song - Wenger this year called him the new Viera... Really Mr. Wenger??? are u tat dumb???... Viera at Song's age was helping Arsenal win the League and FA Cup double... Song trying to inspire this team 2 do that... no chance...

Nasri - The next Zinedine Zidane for some... Puhlease... don't disgrace Zidane... Nasri can't even wipe Zidane's butt... Nasri was so invisble in this game that I had to stop and think who was the 11th gunner on the pitch...

Fabregas - Other than being fouled by Fletcher for the penalty, Fabregas did absolutely nothing in the game... Clearly shows why Spain employ Senna behind him when he plays for them... Lads like Fabregas need someone with him to bully the other team's players away from him so that he can run into space and score one-on-one with the 'keeper!

Walcott - For all talks of the next big English thing and all Walcott sucked in both games! This leg clearly showed that for Walcott to dazzle he needs to put up against a far slower left back... Evra's pace easily put him in his place. Maybe Walcott needs to go play in the veteran's league where his pace can do him some good...

Van Persie - Scored the penalty. Took 2 freekicks. That was his total contribution. His coming back from injury made absolutely no difference!

Adebayor - Adi was ball boy and servant boy for United today. Everytime the ball would go out behind the United goal, Adi would run and fetch the ball and then place it on the 6 yard line for Van Der Sar to kick! He was terrific in those duties... But as a striker... Just as the rest of the team he was inefficient... invisible (even for some1 his height) for most parts!

United played a magnificent overall game. In the second half with the injection of Berbatov they even beat Arsenal at their own passing game... Park's shot that was saved by Almunia clearly shows how Utd ran circles around them.

I was predicting a 1-1 draw but I guess I was giving 2 much credit to the Gunners. Its been 5 years now since their trophyless run and 5 years of constant whinings of 'maturing side' by coach and fans alike... Well... deep down I guess everyone knows that this policy is gonna get them nowhere... They better go get some good players if they have the money! Earlier in the week their majority stakeholder increased his stakes to about 28%... how he must be wishing he hadn't done that now! :))

Anyway United through to the Champions League final in Rome. A repeat of the '99 treble is still on. Maybe I have taken biased reporting a bit 2 much in this post and then again maybe I've not... Who cares... I'm a true Red Devil at heart and I know it and I'm sure as well happy and clapping my hands! :D

Glory Glory Man United!

- BiBinhio.