2020 Summer Transfer Window - Manchester United

July 27th 2020, the summer transfer window is BACK, and with that comes plenty of drama and speculation especially when it comes to Manchester United. The norm these days is being linked with every player under the sun and signing only one or two of them. This window is rather unusual, as it opened later than usual and only closes on the 5th of October for obvious reasons. However, the speculation shall go on and we're already linked with whole host of names. Instead of looking at that, first let's take a look at the positions we need to strengthen. It is very clear that the squad depth is not good enough and Ole has no faith in the squad players to do a job as clearly indicated in the team selection during the last part of the season. In my opinion, we have four areas to strengthen this window and that would be a centre-back, defensive midfielder, right-winger and a centre-forward. Even so, this would be difficult given the circumstances of the pandemic, etc. Below, I list a couple of options that I think would be suitable and classify them in premium and prospect/squad player options. This is all of course based on my own opinion so feel free to comment if you have any other choices. 

Now, to start off with the centre-back positions, here are some choices with stats and price: 

PREMIUM

1. Kalidou Koulibaly (29 years old) - Napoli

Price: £50mil-£80mil 

Stats: 

- Serie A 17/18 - 35 apps, 5 goals, 0.56 goals conceded per 90 mins, 19 clean sheets. 

- Serie A 18/19 - 35 apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, 0.8 goals conceded per 90 mins, 14 clean sheets.

- Serie A 19/20 (as of 1/8/2020) - 24 apps, 1.43 goals conceded per 90 mins, 5 clean sheets. 

- Total Clean Sheets (in all comps): 25 (17/18), 24 (18/19), 9 (19/20).  

- Bookings:  For 18/19, 18 yellow cards and 1 red card in all competitions.

- Bookings:  For 19/20, 9 yellow cards and 1 red card in all competitions. 

- The decrease of goals conceded can be attributed to Napoli's poor form (7th in the league) and him missing 11 games due to a muscle injury. 

2. Milan Škriniar (25 years old) - Inter Milan 

Price: £55mil-£70mil

Stats: 

- Serie A 17/18 - 38 apps, 4 goals, 17 clean sheets, 0.71 conceded per 90 mins. 

- Serie A 18/19 - 35 apps, 15 clean sheets, 2 assists, 0.83 goals conceded per 90 mins. 

- Serie A 19/20 (as of 1/8/2020) - 31 apps, 10 clean sheets, 2 assists, 1 goal conceded per 90 mins. 

- Total Clean Sheets (in all comps): 20 (17/18), 17 (18/19), 13 (19/20). 

- Bookings: For 18/19, 11 yellow cards in all competitions.

- Bookings: For 19/20, 13 yellow cards and 1 red card in all competitions. 

PROSPECT

1. Gabriel Magalhães (22 years old) - Lille 

Price: £20mil-£25mil

Stats: 

- Ligue 1 18/19: 14 apps, 1 goal, 9 clean sheets, 0.34 conceded per 90 mins. 

- Ligue 1 19/20: 24 apps, 1 goal, 12 clean sheets, 0.82 conceded per 90 mins. 

- Total Clean Sheets (in all comps): 12 (18/19), 14 (19/20).

- Bookings: For 18/19, 1 yellow card in all comps. 

- Bookings: For 19/20, 6 yellow cards in all comps. 

2. Pau Torres (23 years old) - Villarreal CF

Price: £45mil release clause

Stats: 

- La Liga 2 18/19 (Malaga): 40 apps, 1 goal, 15 clean sheets, 0.83 conceded per 90 mins.  

- La Liga 19/20 (Villarreal): 34 apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, 11 clean sheets, 1.3 conceded per 90 mins. 

- Total Clean Sheets (in all comps): 15 (18/19), 14 (19/20). 

- Bookings: For 18/19, 6 yellow cards in all comps.

- Bookings: For 19/20, 6 yellow cards in all comps.

3. Ruben Dias (23 years old) - Benfica

Price: £87mil release clause

Stats: 

- Liga NOS 18/19: 32 apps, 3 goals, 1 assist, 14 clean sheets, 0.91 conceded per 90 mins.  

- Liga NOS 19/20: 33 apps, 2 goals, 3 assists, 17 clean sheets, 0.7 conceded per 90 mins. 

- Total Clean Sheets (in all comps): 24 (18/19), 24 (19/20)

- Bookings: For 18/19, 15 yellow cards and 1 red card in all comps.

- Bookings: For 19/20, 13 yellow cards in all comps. 

Other notable mentions: 

1. Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig) - £54.1mil release clause.

2. Caglar Soyuncu (Leicester City) 

3. Ben White (Brighton - on loan at Leeds United)

4. Issa Diop (West Ham)

5. Ben Godfrey (Norwich City)

Moving on to the central defensive position, here are some interesting options to think of:  

PREMIUM

1. Thomas Partey (27 years old) - Atlético Madrid

Price: £45mil release clause

Stats: 

- La Liga 18/19: 32 apps, 3 goals, 4 assists.

- La Liga 19/20: 35 apps, 3 goals.

- Defensive stats - 2.3 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 0.3 blocks per game in all comps (19/20).

- GxA (in all comps): 4 goals, 6 assists (18/19) - 4 goals, 1 assist (19/20). 

- Bookings: For 19/20, 16 yellow cards in all comps. 

2. Ruben Neves (23 years old) - Wolverhampton Wanderers 

Price: £45mil-£65mil

Stats: 

- Premier League 18/19: 35 apps, 4 goals, 3 assists.

- Premier League 19/20: 38 apps, 2 goals, 2 assists. 

- Defensive stats - 1.6 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 0.2 blocks per game in all comps (19/20). 

- GxA (in all comps): 6 goals, 4 assists (18/19) - 4 goals, 3 assists (19/20). 

- Bookings: For 19/20, 9 yellow cards in all comps. 

PROSPECT

1. Boubakary Soumaré (21 years old) - Lille

Price: £20mil-£40mil

Stats: 

- Ligue 1 18/19: 18 apps, 1 goal, 1 assist. 

- Ligue 1 19/20: 20 apps. 

- Defensive stats: 1 tackle, 1.1 interceptions, and 0.2 blocks per game in all comps (19/20). 

- GxA (in all comps): 1 goal, 1 assist (18/19) - 0 goals and assists (19/20). 

- Bookings: For 19/20, 3 yellow cards and 2 red cards in all comps. 

2. Kalvin Phillips (24 years old) - Leeds United

Price: £30mil-£50mil

Stats: 

- EFL Championship 18/19: 44 apps, 1 goal, 3 assists. 

- EFL Championship 19/20: 37 apps, 2 goals, 2 assists.   

- Defensive stats: 2.6 tackles, 1.4 interceptions, and 0.3 blocks per game in all comps (19/20). 

- GxA (in all comps): 1 goal, 3 assists (18/19) - 2 goals and 2 assists (19/20). 

- Bookings: For 19/20, 10 yellow cards and 1 red card in all comps. 

Other notable mentions: 

1. Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City)

2. Promote from within - James Garner (Manchester United)

3. Sandro Tonali (Brescia)

For the right-winger position, believe that the choice has been made to sign Jadon Sancho so nothing much to add here, happy with that and hope it gets done soon. 

PREMIUM

1. Jadon Sancho (20 years old) - Borussia Dortmund

Price: £110mil

Stats: 

- Bundesliga 18/19: 34 apps, 12 goals, 14 assists. 

- Bundesliga 19/20: 32 apps, 17 goals, 16 assists. 

- Offensive stats: 1.8 shots, 2.1 key passes, and 2.5 dribbles per game in all comps (19/20).

- GxA (in all comps): 13 goals, 15 assists (18/19) - 22 goals, 21 assists (19/20). 

Other notable mentions: 

1. Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus)

2. Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)

3. Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich)

4. Hirving Lozano (Napoli)

5. Promote from within - Tahith Chong (Manchester United)

As for the centre-forward position: 

PREMIUM

1. Harry Kane (27 years old) - Tottenham Hotspur 

Price: £100mil-£200mil

Stats: 

- Premier League 18/19: 28 apps, 17 goals, 4 assists. 

- Premier League 19/20: 29 apps, 18 goals, 2 assists. 

- Offensive stats: 3.1 shots, 0.9 key passes, and 1.1 dribbles per game in all comps (19/20).

- GxA (in all comps): 26 goals, 8 assists (18/19) - 36 goals, 7 assists (19/20). 

2. Lautaro Martinez (22 years old) - Inter Milan

Price: £70mil-£90mil

Stats: 

- Serie A 18/19: 27 apps, 6 goals, 2 assists. 

- Serie A 19/20: 34 apps, 14 goals, 3 assists. 

- Offensive stats: 3.7 shots, 0.9 key passes, and 1.1 dribbles per game in all comps (19/20).

- GxA (in all comps): 17 goals, 2 assists (18/19) - 19 goals, 4 assists (19/20). 

3. Moussa Dembélé (24 years old) - Olympique Lyonnais

Price: £55mil-£80mil

Stats:
- Ligue 1 18/19: 33 apps, 15 goals, 4 assists.
- Ligue 1 19/20: 27 apps, 16 goals, 2 assists.
- Offensive stats: 2.1 shots, 0.8 key passes, and 0.9 dribbles per game in all comps (19/20).
- GxA (in all comps): 28 goals, 5 assists (18/19) - 22 goals, 4 assists (19/20).


4. Raúl Jiménez (29 years old) - Wolverhampton Wanderers

Price: £45mil-£60mil

Stats:
- Premier League 18/19: 38 apps, 13 goals, 7 assists.
- Premier League 19/20: 38 apps, 17 goals, 6 assists.
- Offensive stats: 3.1 shots, 1.4 key passes, and 1.6 dribbles per game in all comps (19/20).
- GxA (in all comps): 21 goals, 9 assists (18/19) - 26 goals, 9 assists (19/20).



5. Andrea Belotti (26 years old) - Torino

Price: £50mil-£60mil

Stats:
- Serie A 18/19: 37 apps, 15 goals, 3 assists.
- Serie A 19/20: 35 apps, 16 goals, 3 assists.
- Offensive stats: 2.9 shots, 1.1 key passes, and 1.3 dribbles per game in all comps (19/20).
- GxA (in all comps): 17 goals, 3 assists (18/19) - 27 goals, 5 assists (19/20). 

PROSPECT

1. Iñaki Williams (26 years old) - Athletic Bilbao 

Price: £100mil-£120mil release clause

Stats:
- La Liga 18/19: 38 apps, 13 goals, 4 assists.
- La Liga 19/20: 38 apps, 6 goals, 1 assists.
- Offensive stats: 1.3 shots, 0.7 key passes, and 1.2 dribbles per game in all comps (19/20).
- GxA (in all comps): 15 goals, 4 assists (18/19) - 9 goals, 3 assists (19/20).


2. Ante Rebić (26 years old) - AC Milan

Price: £35mil-£45mil

Stats:
- Bundesliga 18/19 (Eintracht Frankfurt): 28 apps, 9 goals, 4 assists.
- Serie A 19/20: 26 apps, 11 goals, 3 assists.
- Offensive stats: 1.6 shots, 1.3 key passes, and 0.9 dribbles per game in all comps (19/20).
- GxA (in all comps): 10 goals, 6 assists (18/19) - 16 goals, 7 assists (19/20).


Other notable mentions:
1. Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
2. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
3. Victor Osimhen (just signed for Napoli)
4. André Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt)
5. Paco Alcácer (Villarreal CF)

Here's hoping we make some good signings this summer and strengthen to what we already have. 

Eric - UNITED always 😈

Let's keep the momentum going!

     In the previous post I mentioned about how we had to bounce back after those poor performances and we definitely did react well to it. Two wins and hopefully three as we play Zorya Luhansk later tonight. So, what did we learn? First of all, a case of Blind versus Shaw at left back, yes it was only one game but Blind did really well. He's obviously not faster than Shaw but definitely a good reader of the game. We pushed very high up the pitch against Leicester with both Valencia and Blind bombing forward, with Luke he always seems hesitant to go forward and put crosses in the box which is a worry at times. In the wake of those three defeats, it was great to see the team pull together to regain their confidence because clearly we were lacking in that department. 

     I think the big talking point was Jose's decision to bench Wayne which caused plenty of headlines. It paid off as we were much quicker in the final third and Leicester could not cope with it. We were also very aggressive in our press and it worked as they didn't have much time on the ball. Leaving Fellaini out was also a good decision as Ander offered much more in middle of the park and gave Pogba the freedom to play his game. Special praise for Juan as he was fantastic linking up the play in the number 10 role where he belongs. It was refreshing to see Zlatan and Pogba developing an understanding of each other's game and if only Zlatan finished off the chest-volley effort, it would have been a fantastic goal. Come to think of it, four goals in the first half, when was the last time that happened? 

     However, this win is not the end of our problems. We still can work better defensively to shut teams out the way Jose has done for years and years. I think the majority of fans, including myself were crying out for that style of football for a very long time and it was satisfying to watch. This team has the potential to go far and they will only get better with time. Let's hope we keep it going and we'll be fine! 

The next blog will be written after the 18th of October as I have my finals coming up. Thank you for reading! Do share your thoughts in the comment section. 

-E14-

Bounce back or get left behind.

     Well, that was a bad week. 3 losses on the trot, uninspiring performances, and of course a loss of psychological edge after the derby loss. As a fan, I'd say it's tough to accept, but with performances like that we deserve everything we got. Unfortunately I missed the Feyenoord game but managed to watch the highlights to find that the only chance we had was Martial's shot and we continued that trend against Watford with no shots on target in the first half. I still believe that after two seasons under Van Gaal, the team is still playing in his way at times and it's taking time to move on from that. But that does not change the fact that we're playing poorly and need to bounce back before our rivals get too far ahead.

     Now, having watched the Watford game, I'd say we have some serious issues in the team. First of all, fitting Wayne in the side, there has been plenty of debate as to whether he should be dropped or kept in the side. Personally, to me, he's a world class player. However, his performances hasn't justified him a starting place. Yes we know he is the captain, but that doesn't mean he should start every game. I think he needs to be benched for us to get the best out of him. We saw Sir Alex do it in his final season, in a way you could say that might drive him to be better as he showed in the following season under Moyes. As for his position, he is definitely a number 10 to me and I believe his days as a centre forward are done. Unfortunately he cannot offer us the option to run in behind anymore, and we know what he can give us, as he showed in the Hull game. Based on stats, he had 0 touches in the box against Watford and that's simply not good enough. We should be able to find out what the gaffer thinks in the coming weeks. 

     Moving on to the midfield, I believe that we are losing games in this department, Pogba, Fellaini and Wazza, the combination is too slow and the creativity is clearly lacking. Yes he wants to win the aerial battles but we have players like Mata, Mkhitaryan and Herrera who can add that pace and creativity to the team. Manchester United are a team that thrives on the counter attack and we haven't seen that blistering pace going forward. We have strikers playing as wingers which also doesn't seem right. We can't put the blame on Zlatan as he isn't getting the service he needs to bang in the goals. From what I saw, we seem to start off with a 4-1-4-1 with Pogba and Wayne drifting left and right to cover Watford's 5-3-2 formation. We were sloppy in possession and were also bad in a positioning sense in the goals we conceded. For instance, Shaw's lack of awareness when he ran for a break instead of waiting for Martial to get away in the first goal. Mistakes were made and we need to learn quick from it and get points on the board. It's still fairly early in the season but as always, we'll be back stronger. 

Please do share your opinions on what you think should be done either here or on the Facebook post. 

Thank you for reading. 

-E14-

Derby day to learn from.

     As all of us from around the globe just finished watching the Manchester derby, from a football fan's perspective, it was a super entertaining game and that's how big games should be, not like the snoozefest we had last year. However, for once, the buildup to this game was not about the players, but rather, about the two best managers in the game as of now, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. Certainly a first time in a Manchester derby where the managers took centre stage to prove their worth.

     As a Manchester United fan, I was extremely excited and pumped for the game, reading all sorts of stats and watching press conferences to see how the managers played their "mind games" but this was a fairly friendly one as it's still early days in the league. Moving on to the actual game, when I read the team sheet this evening, I was pretty surprised to see Lingard and Mkhitaryan on the team as Mourinho especially does not tinker with his team that often. Lingard, of course, just coming back from an injury did not look sharp and Mkhitaryan who hasn't started a game, (personally I thought he would be good for this game) but he looked lethargic as well.

     It was a game of two halves, with City dominating the first half and us in the second pushing for that equaliser. Personally I thought we made critical errors in the middle of the park today and were punished with some quick passing and interchange by the City players. Unfortunately for us, Blind had a shocking game as well, making two poor judgments in the two goals. On the other hand, Rashford and Herrera completely changed the game when they came on, shouldn't be too long before those two get a place in the starting 11. But all in all, I believe this is a lesson to learn from and I'm sure we will learn from this defeat. In hindsight, it would have been easy to say that Jose made tactical mistakes in the lineup, but he knows more than us in terms of what goes on the training ground and so on. After all, the manager has the final say. Learn from it and we move our attentions to Feyenoord midweek and Watford next weekend. "Win, lose or draw United till I die."

-E14-

 

A new era dawns.

     Recently I've been asked by a couple of friends to share my opinion on the past three years of a club I love and adore. As I was on a plane to Gold Coast, I decided to write about a new era of the greatest club in my eyes, Manchester United. As a diehard United fan I found the past three years to be very disappointing and I bet any United fan and even ex players could not stand watching this legendary club fall into the hands of mediocrity. It all began with David Moyes, who made some critical errors in my opinion by bringing in his own staff as they definitely did not understand the major task ahead. One key example, removing Rene Muelensteen who was fantastic with the players and knew the ins and outs of it all. Not to mention, losing both Sir Alex and David Gill in the same season was catastrophic because not only were we going to have a new manager, but also a new CEO in charge of transfers. I'm sure everyone remembers the overpriced signing of Marouane Fellaini on deadline day. That transfer window was chaotic as we were linked with all sorts of players like Fabregas, Thiago Alcantara and so forth. Typically, United are a club that keeps everything quiet until they officially announce it but you could see that the club were not handling things well. Needless to say, it was a terrible season, with us finishing 7th. We practically got hammered by all the so-called big clubs that season. As for Moyes, unfortunately the fear factor was gone and he just did not have that charisma to manage such a gigantic club. And I quote "we need to aspire to be like City". Sorry to break it to you Moyesy, but we're the greatest club in the world, we have our own identity, and we do not aspire to be another club, especially the one just down the road. And finally the news we all wanted to hear, Moyes finally sacked and you could sense the relieve of the fans. The only good thing he did was bringing in Juan Mata, a gem of a player. After all, he was Fergie's chosen one and it failed.

     Next was Mr. Philosophy aka Louis van Gaal, whom most of us did not know much of, as his successes came in the 90's with Barcelona and Ajax. The most recent, FC Bayern Munchen and also the Netherlands national team. As the news broke, most of us were eagerly waiting to watch the Oranje in the World Cup to see how he handled his tactics and so on. They, in fact beat the previous World Champions Spain 5-1 in their opening game. It obviously gave us a lot of excitement as we thought we would see such free flowing football with United. Early days showed a 3-5-2 formation with 3 centre backs as well as wingbacks. He tried to do the same with United as he realized there were a few number 10's in the team with the likes of Kagawa, Mata, and Wazza. It was definitely a busy summer that season with a number of transfers in and out. Victor Valdes, Luke Shaw, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Angel Di Maria, Ander Herrera and Radamel Falcao were among the ins. He was initially very adamant that his back three formation would work as he changed it up to a 4-4-2 diamond when we played at home and a 3-5-2 for away games. Soon enough as we watched the lack of effort from him at his technical area and also the overly defensive tactics, once again we were left with someone who is out of his depth and with no plan B. The tendency to play players out of position completely alienated certain players like Di Maria who started the season brilliantly playing in his favorite position.

     Most of us wanted him out that season, but with not many top quality managers around, the club and the fans decided to give him another opportunity. Yet again, he splashed the cash and no doubt was given the funds to spend, this time, bringing the likes of Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Memphis Depay, Sergio Romero (after falling out with Valdes), and Anthony Martial. Personally I felt he made mistakes by selling key players like Robin Van Persie, Rafael, Shinji Kagawa and Javier Hernandez. Another season with high expectations started off with a dull 1-0 win over Spurs. All of us were once again, left with disappointment at how we approached games, the 'don't shoot on sight, but rather pass' became the norm as we struggled to find the back of the net. Hammering teams 3-0, 4-0 became a rare occasion as we began to see plenty of 0-0's which is not the way United play football. In fact, how many times have we come back from being down, the drive and last minute goals were hard to come by as the team lacked consistency and the never say die attitude that the class of 92' always had. I remember a particular interview on FullTimeDevils where this guy made a very good point about Memphis/Ronaldo progress, when Ronaldo falls over after trying to dribble Fergie would tell him to get back up and go again, but when Memphis tries, it's written on the book and you're out the next game. That's not very motivating for a young player who wants to try different things and build his confidence. Disappointing as this season was, we were boosted by our youth system, with Marcus Rashford, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Guillermo Varela, Jesse Lingard, Donald Love and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson all joining first team football. Make no mistake about it, if we didn't have injuries, he would not have played them and we wouldn't have been able to see the young talent on show. Despite all this, we somehow pulled off a good run in the FA Cup and even managed to win it. Those were definitely the positives of the season as this new rebuilt team had their first taste of silverware. And I quote "the expectations of the fans are too high", when a manager says this you clearly knows he doesn't understand the club and is setting the bar lower than expected. I thank him for guiding the team to a record 12th FA Cup but that's as far as I'll go. I don't think any of the fans will miss him(I know I won't) but we wish him the best of course.

 

     For the past few years, I have to say, David De Gea's progress has been massive. When he first came to Manchester United, he looked very small and was not very effective at dominating the box, gaining his name as more of a shot stopper. Our goalkeeping coach at the time, Eric Steele said that he was lazy to learn English and had plenty to learn to become the best. Steele even learnt Spanish to help with his progress. By that time, we all could see the difference in his physique and his confidence. Then came Chris Woods, goalkeeping coach from the Moyes era, he was a key in helping De Gea dominate the penalty box. And of course, Frans Hoek, a specialist in positioning, assisted him in more of 1v1 situations, as we all witnessed a great goalkeeper's journey to the top. I certainly believe all these three coaches have helped enhance his skills in some way and were beneficial in his progress. For the past three seasons, he has been our best player and has saved us on many occasions. To me, he is the best goalkeeper in the world right now.

 

     As for the upcoming season, I am ecstatic that we have got Jose Mourinho as our new manager to lead this great club. He is definitely one of the best managers to ever grace the game. We all know he is a fantastic manager, it was just that we did not like the fact that he managed Chelsea. Plus it's not a big secret that he's always wanted the United job. His charisma and personality definitely sets the tone as we wait for his first press conference as Manchester United manager. For instance, the "I'm not one of the bottle, I think I'm the special one" immediately put him at the centre of attention. Even in his first interview, he goes on to say he prefers to forget the last three years and focus on more on the history of the club, which is exactly what the fans think as well. I'm sure most United fans who actually watch games know that we need a centre back, a centre forward and a creative spark in midfield to improve our performances. He seems to have already identified that by signing Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan(not confirmed). With all these marquee signings, I am thrilled for the new season to begin, although I won't be expecting too much as the new players will have to gel with the old and get used to the Premier League. I'm also excited by the prospect of the new managers in the league, to see how they set up their teams tactically and so forth. I do believe that Jose Mourinho is the right man to bring the 'Super, Monster Club' back to greatness.

 

 

 

Still relatively new to blogs, thank you all for taking the time to read. #MUFC

A game where expectations didn't meet with reality.

   

 

       There it was – the clash of the titans so they would say, two English giants colliding in one match where one’s aim was to get that top spot back and the other was to reach the top 4. Arsenal vs Manchester United, a fixture that would get everyone at the edge of their seat, a rivalry that has been going on for more than a decade. These two teams have played out some amazing matches. For instance, going back to the 1999 semi-final of the FA Cup where United took the lead through David Beckham but only to be hit back by Dennis Bergkamp’s equaliser. The match took another turn for the worst when United’s captain Roy Keane was sent off. After immense pressure from Arsenal, their captain at that time, Patrick Vieira gives the ball to the one and only Ryan Giggs who passes 3 players and scores the winner for United. I don’t think anyone would have forgotten that *hairy* celebration. Having said that, it was definitely a match to be remembered. United went on to win the FA Cup that year and also achieved a treble. As expected, Arsenal rebuilded their squad and came back much stronger to have a season which saw them undefeated in the league and the second team to become “The Invincibles” after Preston North End in the year 2004. However, United ended that undefeated streak at Old Trafford with a 2-0 win the following season. These scorelines 0-0, 2-1, 4-2, 8-2, 6-1, 2-2, 3-1 have all been very very good matches indeed. Not forgetting the legends that have played in these matches with the likes of Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Thierry Henry. These matches also had some rather funny incidents where Arsene Wenger kicks a bottle and gets sent to the stands, another being a pizza thrown at Sir Alex Ferguson in the tunnel and some serious ones where Beckham gets hit by a boot kicked by Sir Alex in the dressing room and the Vieira/Keane fights. All these incidents mark how significant this rivalry really is.

 

     Fast forward to 2013/2014 season, Arsenal have rebuilded their squad once again and have proven that they can be title contenders. However for Manchester United, this is a time of change and it will take time to adjust to the farewell of Sir Alex, in my opinion, the best manager in the world. Moving on to the game where expectations didn’t meet with reality.  Just last night, Arsenal and United played out a 0-0 stalemate that saw both teams stay where they stand in the league. It was a fairly entertaining match with a lot of nervousness with both teams. Olivier Giroud came closest for Arsenal to break the deadlock and so was Robin Van Persie for United. Both goalkeepers were also equally good on the night. The reverse fixture saw United win 1-0 at Old Trafford. Having said that, last night’s match showed that both teams have their own style and are having problems of their own.  As a football fan, it’s good to see how rivalries are played out and the passion that goes through it. I’m a die-hard Manchester United fan myself and I live for that passion that goes through a game. To all Manchester United fans out there, it’s not over for us, we will always come back stronger and  prove the doubters wrong. GGMU!

 

This is my first blog so please do go easy on me. Hope you football fans like it!

 

*The blogger wishes to thank his friend Eong Wei for helping him set up the blog*