This past weekend was a sight to behold in England: shocks, stunning stops and one nils. We can safely say that the race for the title this season is possibly the most open race in the history of the English Premiership.
Teams you expect to win – Tottenham, Manchester City, Chelsea and to some extent, Arsenal - fail to do so against teams which on paper are clear underdogs – respectively, Newcastle United, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion and yes, even Manchester United.
On Saturday, Liverpool absolutely destroyed Fulham, which proves that when the SAS hits the ground running, they are fully capable of outgunning even the best.
And this performance against a side they should rightfully brush aside was convincing in that regard. The incredible energy and movement of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez tore Fulham apart.
The weary Cottagers cannot afford to take another battering and someone better save Martin Jol from choking on his own tie. Indeed, it is beginning to look like a hangman's noose for the well-travelled Dutchman as Fulham failed to show any of the grit and determination they showed (albeit 45 minutes too late) against an effective Manchester United last time out.
Just a nagging thought: if Suarez and Sturridge were the Gunners frontline, life would indeed be complete for the Arsenal fan!
On Sunday night, it was a case of two teams on opposite ends of the scoring spectrum, failing to break down defences.
The result: Tottenham Hotspur suffering another home defeat after failing to beat an inspired Tim Krul in the Magpies' goalmouth and Manchester City falling to a shock defeat at the Stadium of Light.
It is a regular problem for Spurs thus far this season with only nine goals scored in 11 Premier League matches. They dominated Newcastle and created many chances, which on any other night would have resulted in a resounding rout.
Instead, the misfiring continued with Tim Krul putting in the performance of the season from a goalkeeper–- perhaps even one of the best performances in Premier League history.
To their credit, Spurs created far more clear-cut chances than Manchester City did in their respective matches, and Vito Mannone in the Sunderland goal was not worked anywhere near as hard as Krul.
Perhaps Andre Villas-Boas will rue taking goalscoring midfielder and goal threat Gylfi Sigurdsson off and not Eriksen who looks awkward on the left. Maybe it is time to start experimenting with Sigurdsson up front alongside Soldado?
Meanwhile, Manchester City may feel aggrieved with a foul on James Milner going unpunished in the build-up leading up to Phil Bardsley's goal. However, there can be no questioning the quality of the through ball by Wes Brown.
With both Manchester City and Tottenham failing to come away with anything from their respective fixtures, the stage was set for Manchester United (MU) to step up.
Truthfully, MU would not be in too bad a shape if they had dropped points on Sunday. If they lost, they would still be only four points behind Chelsea for a Champions League spot. Win, and they move ahead of Manchester City in the standings; hardly a crisis after all?
United defended with poise and resilience and, unlike Sunderland and Newcastle, there was no nagging feeling that their defences would eventually be breached. Perhaps it is the years of experience under Alex Ferguson at defending leads late, sprinkled with David Moyes' defensive discipline.
Arsenal were physically and mentally overpowered, their normally dependable midfield trio putting in a disjointed display.
I would like to imagine that prior to the match, the proud Scotsman, David Moyes would have said something akin to William Wallace's (played by Mel Gibson) speech in Braveheart, or maybe Ferguson worked his charm and took the pre-game team talk.
Regardless, Manchester United looked in complete control of the proceedings, almost daring Arsenal to come forward at times. The confidence when without possession amongst the MU players was truly a sight to behold.
Mesut Ozil looked lethargic, bordering on disinterested. Cazorla found it nigh-impossible to tread pinpoint passes in between the MU midfielders, let alone their sturdy back line.
Despite their misgivings, however, the most disappointing of all Arsenal midfielders on the night was Aaron Ramsey, who put in a dreadful performance. Every forward pass felt forced, every dribble uncertain.
His defenders might say that for the entire Arsenal line-up, but the fact remains that a young man who swept aside Steven Gerrard but a week ago failed to find a way past the world class midfield of Phil Jones, Michael Carrick and, later on, Tom Cleverley.
Oliver Giroud also failed to impress, with Nemanja Vidic's substitution for a head injury making little difference. The France striker's link-up play was dismal on the night, and he was more animated in remonstrating with the referee than in focusing on the task at hand in front of goal.
Two glorious crosses by Bacary Sagna still provided Arsenal with the chance to snatch something at Old Trafford and both times, they went a-begging.
The international break could be viewed in two ways by Arsene Wenger: 1) the inability of his side to bounce back immediately after a torrid performance due to scheduling could be a negative in letting this result seep into their collective consciousness over the next two weeks; or, 2) positively, wherein a week off could help revitalise a team that has had the most difficult recent run of matches anyone in Europe has faced so far this season.
Either way, we will find out in two weeks. – November 11, 2013.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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