What a match! What an atmosphere! What fighting spirit from both teams! What a sore throat I’m going to get from all that shouting!
The match began with Arsenal energy and Man U trying to contain them. After some missed shots from both sides, Wayne Rooney drew first blood towards half time. I felt Manuel Almunia could have done a better job to save it – he looked unprepared. I could imagine Jens Lehmann smirking in his reserves seat, preparing his next snide comment. Fortunately, Almunia made some decent saves in the second half that might keep his position secure for a few more games at least.
So Man U were up by a goal during half time. I pictured Arsene Wenger giving the lads a pep talk. Could Arsenal be the comeback kings again? They were! Within a couple of minutes, Cesc Fabregas found himself unguarded in front of the Man U goal and calmly tapped the ball in. Roawwr!!
Things got more exciting in the second half but neither side made progress. Shots were either off target or saved. It looked like it was going to become a draw. Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger made changes. Wenger brought on Walcott – it’s about time! Walcott made some impact by shooting at range and on target – but Van Der Sar caught it. Then Walcott appeared on the other side to prevent Wayne Rooney from keeping the ball.
Then Ronaldo scored! I thought, oh noo, there’s not much time left! Just that we weren’t sure who exactly scored the goal because the Gunners looked like they were giving a 21-gun salute to Edwin van der Sar. Walcott was the last to attempt a shot. The video playback revealed it was none other than ex-Chelsea defender William Gallas – who has now scored against Man U three times in three different teams! Good for the linesman to have spotted the ball; that would have made a 2 point difference!
What was heartening to see, apart from Arsenal’s resilience, was the sportsmanship and respect that was lacking in previous matches between both sides. How can we forget the pizza thrown at Alex Ferguson in the tunnel and the shoves at Ruud van Nistelrooy? But this time Wayne Rooney shook Kolo Toure’s hand – no hard feelings. Rooney has controlled his emotions better this season and he will come out a stronger player for it. Tevez didn’t make much impact though and Ronaldo was a bit quiet in the first half, getting clipped off by Clichy, but later on he nearly won the game for Man U.
One of the last fleeting moments captured on TV was Fabregas and Ronaldo shaking hands. They are both rather handsome, young, and despite being pretty good at what they do, have potential to become even better. Fabregas has a good chance of becoming player of the year, but I hope the glory won’t go to his head. The young Gunners should stay hungry and the world could be in their hands.