Kevin Whitcher
Football fans, eh? After spending 21 years calling Arsène Wenger every name under the sun, including some distinctly distasteful ones, the Old Trafford crowd applauded the Arsenal manager on his walk from the tunnel to the dugout, where he was presented with a commemorative vessel of some description by Sir Alex Ferguson. Jose Mourinho, after years of insults, made out he was a big buddy. Time is a great healer, eh? I wonder if this had been a title deciding clash between the two teams (remember those?) whether or not the reception would have been anywhere near as warm. Alexis Sanchez came over before the start and gave his old boss a hug.
Arsène, as expected, played a shadow strength team. Maybe only four of the players that started will do so on Thursday in Madrid – Ospina, Bellerin, Xhaka and Mkhitaryan. Encouraging that the latter played and seemed to get through the game ok before being subbed in the second half. There were three youngsters – Nelson, Maitland-Niles and Mavropanos. There were understandable fears we might see another 8-2 type scoreline, but Manchester United aren’t as good a team anymore and the Arsenal eleven did perform very creditably. The record of Arsenal’s abysmal Premier League away run without a point in 2018 continues, but that isn’t telling the story of this game, probably the Gunners’ best performance in that dire run.
There were cynics who saw the selection of the Sven Mislintat-scouted young Greek centre-back over Rob Holding as a parting gift to the new regime – here's what I think of your targets, with a thought he might be traumatised by a heavy defeat and see his career go the way of defensive partner Calum Chambers. However, he played so well, that on Match of the Day Ian Wright reckoned he should start on Thursday in the semi-final second leg. Truth to tell, Wenger decided to keep the player when he saw him train in January rather than send him on loan to Germany. That he has been so rarely used is something we can ponder about given the poor defending we have seen in recent weeks, but at least there is optimism for the future. Get used to this. The short term plan is to forget buying established superstars – the money’s now running out for that, spent in the transfer windows since 2013 (or not in the case of 2015) and on the wages of the likes of Ozil, Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan. Even the signings that cost in the region of £30 million will not be star names. Aubameyang was the last star arrival for a while, a gamble on getting the club back into the top four that didn’t work out. Arsenal will be trying to identify up and coming talent, buying more established players with a year left on their deals or who are free agents, and trying to get more out of their Academy. Players like Maitland-Niles.
Although defensively there was a lot to commend the line-up for, the opening United goal was a consequence of Pogba being allowed to roam free with neither Maitland-Niles nor Xhaka covering themselves in glory. The former should have taken a yellow card and stopped Pogba’s drive forward outside the area, and as for Xhaka’s attempt at a sliding tackle… I don’t see him as part of any new manager’s plans, let’s put it that way. Bellerin did well to deflect Sanchez’s shot onto the post, but Pogba had a tap in and it was 1-0.
Arsenal rallied though and in the second half, a bit of ‘After You Claude’ in the United midfield gave Mkhitaryan the opportunity to place a low drive past De Gea and level the scores. The football United fans are being treated to at the moment is not of the highest quality, but you have to say that they are still turning up. At least, in terms of league position, they are seeing improvement, but in fairness yesterday’s match was pretty dire. The visiting team had the excuse of their selection, but United had none. This was pretty much their strongest eleven. The only way Jose will remain in post is more trophies. I’d give him one more season unless he delivers one of the big two in 2018-19.
There was a late scare for Arsenal as United brought on Fellaini to create havoc in the box. The Belgian headed onto the post, but after Rashford poked home the rebound, the linesman’s flag went up for offside. It was a warning, but one that wasn’t heeded. In injury time, a cruel blow, as Ashley Young’s cross was met by Fellaini again and looped into the corner of the net. It would be churlish to be over-critical of what was a pretty flukey goal, although it's the type Fellaini has scored more than once. Arsenal sat deep trying to defend the draw and it didn’t work out. In the greater scheme of things, it won’t matter. United will finish second and Arsenal will finish sixth.
Sometime contributor Ian Henry messaged to inform me that “Arsenal have now conceded more goals than Newcastle and Brighton and only 4 fewer than Swansea; and we have conceded 1.5 x the number of goals conceded by Burnley. That is why Thursday’s trip to Madrid will, almost certainly, be in vain.” He followed it up by stating that “Man City’s Goal Difference is now 4 x ours – 76 vs 19. Quite a feat really. From the Invincibles to that in 14 years.” It’s certainly ironic that City have been so successful playing the football of Pep Guardiola, a manager Arsene Wenger has spent years trying to imitate. The City manager though, is more hands on. His coaching is very different to Arsene’s, who prefers the players to work things out for themselves. It worked for 10 years when he had better and more experienced players – they’d already been coached elsewhere. But since the break-up of the Invincibles, Arsene’s faith in pure talent has placed a glass ceiling on the club’s chances.
There is encouragement for the future though, in the performances of the likes of Mavropanos and Maitland-Niles. It was interesting to hear Ian Wright state that players in training were told not to be physical in their challenges, a habit which has led to the situation where we are now, an attack that can win games, paired with a defence that can lose them. Arsène’s philosophy ultimately relies on the opposition not having the ball. It’s idealistic in the extreme, the desire to produce the perfect performance. But the reality has given the fans at Old Trafford many happy memories of Arsenal visits, even going back to the 6-1 during Arsene’s golden decade. Still, Gooners have some good memories too. There have been five victories at the stadium in Wenger’s 22 years, four of them leading to trophies (two titles and two FA Cups), and if you add in the 0-0 draw in the autumn of 2003, then you also get the Invincibles season. In the last 27 meetings between the two teams in all competitions, home and away, the record is Arsenal wins 5 Draws 6 United wins 16. The rivalry, as such, ceased to have the meaning it once did years ago. Such stats against the bigger sides are the reason Arsene’s on his farewell lap of honour, and being given the love he is now getting. Given what’s gone before, it’s by far the best way to end.
We now look forward to Thursday, and the hope that his team can produce a performance on a par with that v Juventus in 1980, v Parma in 1994 or v Real Madrid in 2006. The gap between Arsenal’s previous two European trophies was 24 years. Do the maths. Maybe Arsene’s fortune might be better utilised elsewhere than a meaningless game in Manchester…
We are bringing out a special edition of The Gooner for the Burnley game. This will be a special on Arsène’s 22 years at the club. It will pay tribute to some of the wonderful times he has given us, but won’t ignore the less enjoyable stuff, if only because there will be a review of every season alongside a plethora of articles about different aspects of his time in North London. It will be 84 pages thick and will cost £5. We have little doubt the official programme will also be an Arsène tribute of a more sugar-coated variety, but you pay your money, you take the choice. Important to note – no-one’s subscription covers this special edition. Existing subscriptions cover up to issue 271 (the current edition) and those of you who have committed to next season will get their first issue in August (272). This special edition is available to order online for posting to you on Friday – you can pre-order it here – or if you are not coming to the Burnley game, assuming we do not sell out, the sellers for our reduced matchday sales operation next season should have copies.
