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Angry Wenger targets Fletcher in post-defeat fallout

That didn't last long.

We were told that there was a new friendliness and respect between Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

You wouldn't have noticed from today's newspapers:

This is the Arsenal manager quoted in The Guardian:

"There are other points [than diving] that, for me, are more urgent – players who play only to make fouls and who are never punished; players who make repeated fouls and who get out of the game without a yellow card. That, for me, is more anti-football than a player who did what Eduardo did."

Darren Fletcher is the key target of Wenger's ire:

"Wenger was asked to clarify whether he meant Fletcher and laughed, replying with mock surprise: "Why do you say the name?" Fletcher had given away six free-kicks, twice as many as any of his team-mates, but was not one of the three United players to get a yellow card.  "I have seen a player who plays only on the pitch to make repeated fouls," Wenger continued. "Look at how many deliberate fouls some players make and get away with. I think that's a bigger problem [than diving] because it cuts the flow of the game. And people come and pay to see football. They do not come to see free‑kicks. You should ask the referees [how they get away with it].""

Writing in The Telegraph Alan Hansen concludes that the grit of Fletcher is exactly what Arsenal needs:

"Fletcher is a box-to-box player, he runs all day and gets up-and-down the pitch. He is competitive, somebody who is prepared to get his foot in, and he is also good in the air. That is why Sir Alex Ferguson has begun to use him more and more in United's big games over the past couple of years. Fletcher is a really important cog in the wheel.  Put him in an Arsenal shirt, though, and he probably wouldn't fit into their style of play because Arsène Wenger just wants to play open, attractive football. And that is one of Arsenal's major flaws.  They are terrific to watch and, at times they have produced some of the best football that I have ever seen, but whereas United tend not to lose games that they have dominated, it happens all too often with Arsenal and five years without a trophy says it all."

11 points about the Arsenal match

1. A great result.  First things first: what a great result.  Sure, United weren't at their best, more on which below; Arsenal looked deeply impressive at times; and our goals came courtesy of a penalty and an own goal.  But the simple fact is: we beat a team which had scored ten goals over their previous two league games, and which we drew and lost against in the premiership last season.  It will be a great confidence boost for the players, after an uncertain start to the campaign.  And while they may have only earned the points rather than the plaudits, as Rob Draper puts it in the Sunday Mail, that might have something to do with why we've won the league for three seasons running, and Arsenal haven't won anything since 2005.

2. Thank you, Wayne.  We expected more goals, and he's delivering; that's now 4 goals in 4 league games for Wayne Rooney.  He was unusually quiet in the first half yesterday, but came to life in the second and, of course, banged in that crucial penalty.  We could well have found the answer to the great penalty-taker question:



3. Thank you, Diaby.  Yeh, yeh, it's a bit cruel to revel in someone else's misery, but Diaby's own-goal really was something.  What was he trying?  A cushioned header back to the keeper?  A strong header to put the ball behind for a corner?  In the end, we ended up with a bit of both, and it came to a perfect goal in the corner of the net.  Any striker would have been proud...



4. A crucial save.  Still a bit of shakiness with the ball at his feet, but let's not forget Foster's main contribution yesterday: that awesome save from Van Persie, six yards out, which prevented Arsenal from going 2-0 up.  Pure, instinctive, preternatural goalkeeping - and an early contender for save of the season.

5. Penalty controversy.  It just had to happen, didn't it?  After Eduardo's midweek theatrics, penalties - both given and denied - just had to enter proceedings yesterday.  Let's get the Rooney one out of the way first: it was a clear-cut penalty, the ref was right to give it, and Almunia hardly complained.  But, it we're fair, Fletcher's tackle on Arshavin was also a penalty, and you've got to wonder whether the whole diving controversy influenced the ref's decision not to point to the spot.  Either way, Arsenal can't complain too much about it not being awarded, as they still scored from the same move.

6. Super Fletcher.  Aside from the tackle-that-should-have-conceded-a-penalty on Arshavin, Fletcher was flawless yesterday.  We all know he's a big-game player, but now he's becoming the mainstay of the United midfield: solid and combative in defence, and increasingly incisive in attack.  He's even honest, admitting in a post-match interview with Match of the Day that he probably could have conceded a penalty:

"At the time, I didn't think it was a penalty, I thought I got the ball.  But now I've watched it, it's debatable.  But I think I'm due a bit of luck with penalties against Arsenal."

Great stuff.

7. Valencia Watch.  Here's how the Valencia scorecard looks now: great in preseason; underwhelming as a substitute against Chelsea; anonymous against Birgminham; our best attacking player when he came on against Burnley; great against Wigan; and, now, fairly poor against Aresenal.  It's a mixed bag, and has set tonuges wagging about whether he's worth the £18 or so million we paid for him.  We'll keep an eye on the situation, but there's certainly enough there to think he'll develop into an effective performer for United.

8. Taking a dive.  So Arsenal don't dive do they, Mr Wenger?  The prosecution presents Exhibit A: Emmanuel Eboue being given a yellow card for, erm, diving in yesterday's game.  After the Eduardo controversy, Eboue certainly could have picked a better weekend for his amateur dramatics - especially when they're quite so blatant.

9. Comedy Arsene.  Another of the game's main talking points, along with Arshavin's penalty-that-wasn't: Arsene Wenger being sent to the stands for kicking a water bottle in frustration at Robin Van Persie's late, disallowed goal.  The Arsenal manager didn't know where to sit, so he ended up standing in an alcove above the dug-outs, surrounded by thousands of United fans, all pointing and laughing.  Classic.



10. Lack of spark.  As I've said above, it's superb that United ended up with three points - it's the mark of champions that they can still win despite not playing at their best etc. etc.  But if you're going to take a worry away from this game, it's that we're still lacking a certain spark.  Aside from the dynamic Darren Fletcher, the midfield lacked cohesion and penetration.  And it showed in a performance which registered only two "shots" on target by the 64th minute - Rooney's penalty and Diaby's own-goal.  Late misses from Berbatov and Nani, both from very promising positions, added to the sense that this team is quite firing on all cylinders.  I expect it will all come together soon enough, as it has on occasion already this season - but there were times yesterday when you half wished Ronaldo was still around.

11. Final word from the manager.  Here's Fergie's take on the game:

"When you are 1-0 down at half time it’s an uphill task against a team of the capabilities of Arsenal. We had to dig deep.  This result can make a difference and the players will gather momentum from this win.

Last season we dropped four points to Arsenal and six against Liverpool. We were a bit unlucky there, but you have to correct these things. Already we’ve made a better start this season in that respect."

Pete

Devils will face Wolves for first time in League Cup

So a home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the next round of the League Cup. I think I'm right in saying it will be the first time we've ever played Wolves in the League Cup - arguably the biggest club we've never met in the competition.

And the biggest League club we've never met in either domestic cup competition...?  Swansea City.

Match Preview: Arsenal

Undoubtedly the biggest game of the season so far.  While these games may have lost an element of the Keane-era ferocity it will still be a passionate affair, and a huge game for both clubs.

For United, there is our poor record against the big four last season, which needs working on, but it is also the first such clash without Ronaldo and Tevez.

Fergie has said that we can't afford to drop any more points this early in the season, and should we lose to Arsenal on home soil, the press are likely to view as proof United will not be title contenders, with their current squad.

For Arsenal it is a big test too. Much has been made of their ability to put multiple goals past woefully inadequate Everton and Portsmouth, but United at Old Trafford is a different proposition. Will the young Gunners deliver on their early season hype?

Injuries at the back mean it is not an ideal time to face Arsenal with so much at stake, (though the Gunners are likely to be without Fabregas) and I am expecting a very tough game for United. Equally I am looking forward to seeing how the new look United fares against high calibre opposition. Victory would mean so much more than three points.

Defence

Despite set backs, United have conceded less goals than Arsenal, despite playing a game more - thanks in no small part so some great work by Ben Foster. Obviously Van der Sar's experience would be handy today, but Foster's growing stature means it is less of a concern as it could have been.

Fit again Wes Brown could return, the question is whether to the right back slot he made his own two seasons ago, or to relieve Jonny Evans in the centre. Given that Evans is having injections to make it through games, and has needed to be substituted, it seems to make more sense to avoid a forced change later in the game and rest Evans completely, putting O'Shea or Neville in at right back.

Midfield

The strong performance by the United midfield at Wigan (Fletcher Scholes, Nani, Valencia) points to making few changes, but given that Wigan are not Arsenal, a different line up is likely. Park's relentless running seems crucial to disrupting Arsenal's rhythm, so he seems a safer choice than Valencia for this tie.

The question is, will Michael Carrick's unexplained absence continue? Must be Red will be listening with interest when the team sheet is announced. In a game when harrying and closing down will play their part in stopping Arsenal, it seems a shame that Anderson as well as Carrick is out of form and out of favour.

The fluid nature of the Gunners 4-3-3 means there will be a lot of running for the Reds midfield. Despite Paul Scholes' undoubted qualities, I wonder whether he would be able to keep up these days.

Yet given that Giggs did not feature in the Wigan game, the Welshman seems due a return, be it in the centre or out wide. Who knows, maybe we will even get another one of these?

Up Front

Despite Owen's first goal it's almost bound to be Berbatov and Rooney again. It was great to see Dimitar chasing back and nicking the ball off defenders in the Wigan game. While he's no Tevez yet, the fact that he looks hungrier this season can only be a good thing for United. 

With Owen off the mark it would be great to see him open his home account even if as a substitute. The winning goal would do nicely, Michael.

Patrick

And United's Champions League opponents are...

...CSKA Moscow, Besiktas and Wolfsburg.

Of course, Wolfsburg are the reigning German champions but - on paper, at least - that's not the most terrifying draw.

To my eyes, Chelsea are the English club with the hardest task, although you'd expect them to get through.  They'll face: FC Porto, Atletico Madrid and APOEL Nicosia.  While Liverpool have: Lyon, Fiorentina, Debrecen.  And Arsenal: AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Standard.

Pete

United supporters vote Chelsea as main domestic rival and Barcelona as top European opponent

755 Manchester United supporters voted in MustBeRed's first weekly survey of opinion among United's global fans. You can take part in the second survey by voting here.

CHELSEA SEEN AS MAIN RIVAL FOR RETAINING THE PREMIERSHIP

The vote was taken before Liverpool lost last night at home to Aston Villa and most people had voted before Arsenal's strong start to the season. We'll hold another vote in a month or so.  Only 2% of United supporters see City as a serious rival - despite the Arab-owned team's £216m spending spree.

BARCELONA ARE SEEN AS MAIN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RIVAL

Ten times as many United supporters see Barcelona as the main European rival as see Chelsea as the main rival.  Only 1% see Arsenal as United's main European rival.

ROONEY WILL BE UNITED'S TOP SCORER

It is difficult to argue with the verdict on this one.  A whopping 86% of supporters said that Wayne Rooney - who scored his 101st goal for United on Saturday against Wigan - will be United's top scorer in 2009/10.  More supporters expect Owen to hit the back of the net more regularly than Berbatov.

WE CAN BE STRONGER WITHOUT RONALDO

Most members of the MustBeRed panel are optimists about life after Ronaldo.  A quarter expect United to be weaker without last year's World Player of The Year but two-thirds say we can be stronger.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE IN THE NEW SURVEY.

The hottest selling T-shirt outside Old Trafford last week was...

Torres is a good looking boy and this is not the first time I've seen someone suggest that the Liverpool striker might look a little like Sacha Baron Cohen's latest creation. But, but, but... On what occasion would you want to wear such a T-shirt? MustBeRed can't think of one.

United's 100 Club

Courtesy of the great Republik of Mancunia, a graphic showing those United players who have scored 100 goals or more for the club.  Of course, Wayne Rooney became a new entry yesterday, with his goals against Wigan:

Pete

United get fewer penalties than Arsenal and Liverpool, and score fewer than Chelsea

There's a fantastic statistical snippet in today's Sunday Times, showing the number of Premier League penalties that top sides have been awarded over the past ten years, and how successful they are at converting them.  Here are the stats for the "top four":

Manchester United

Penalty success rate since 1999-2000 season: 78.3%
Penalties awarded: 46
Penalties scored: 36

Liverpool

Penalty success rate: 75.5%
Penalties awarded: 53
Penalties scored: 40

Chelsea

Penalty success rate: 94.9%
Penalties awarded: 39
Penalties scored: 37

Arsenal

Penalty success rate: 81.8%
Penalties awarded: 55
Penalties scored: 45

So we've been awarded fewer penalties than both Liverpool and Arsenal, but no-one comes close to Chelsea's daunting 94.9% success rate.

Pete

11 points about the Wigan match

1. The perfect response.  Even though there are still some doubts and worries (see below), you can't really argue against 5 goals, scored away from home, and with all of your main strikers getting on the score sheet.  This was pretty much the best response we could have expected after the Burnley game, and sets things up nicely for the Arsenal match next weekend.  We've got six points now, only 84 more to go by Fergie's reckoning.

2. Well done, Wayne: goals #100 and #101.  Remember that debut against Fenerbahce?  Goals 1, 2 and 3 in a United shirt for Wayne Rooney?  Well, four years on he's the Old Trafford hero we all thought he'd be, and he just smashed in goals 100 and 101.  Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the magic hundreth:


Original Video- More videos at TinyPic

3. Owen's goal.  To my eyes, Owen's goal was the pick of the bunch.  Not just for the crisp pass by Nani and the pinpoint finish from Owen himself, but for what this could mean for our season - a confident Owen could well start banging them in from now on.



4. Berbatov's genius.  Lazy?  Doesn't add much to the team?  Geddaway.  Especially in the second half, Berbatov's neat touches and cushioned passes were the impetus behind many of United's best attacking moves.  The goal - complete with a chip over the keeper - capped what was an impressive performance.



5. Valencia Watch.  Now, that's more like it.  Against his old club, Valencia looked much more like the player we all got excited about in pre-season: a danger down the flank, peppering the opposition box with plenty of threatening crosses.  There are still question marks about whether he can pull it off against stronger oppostion - Ashley Cole, for instance, coped easily with him in the Community Shield match - but this was encouraging stuff.

6. The New Nani.  Last week we had the Old Nani: wasteful, frustating and lazy.  This week we're mostly back to the New Nani we saw against Chelsea: controlled, constructive and central to much of United's best play.  Again, a player who capped an impressive performance with an equally impressive goal.



7. Solid-(ish) defence.  Aside from a few wobbles - and, yes, a goal conceded against Burnley - one of the great positives that Fergie can take from the opening three games of the season is how our defence has coped with the injuries which have decimated it.  Vidic was back yesterday - which immediately made us look more solid - but none of the stand-ins, from John O'Shea to Wes Brown, have particularly embarrassed themselves or the team.  Special mention must go to Patrice Evra, who has been our player of the season so far, and Jonny Evans, who is one of the most composed young defenders that these eyes have ever seen.

8. The great Wigan run.  Don't you just love it when United play Wigan?  In nine league meetings now, United have come out winners every time - scoring 26 goals, and conceding only 4, in the process.

9. Doubts and worries.  Ok, so everything above has been a positive.  But there's no masking the fact that United looked distinctly off the boil in the first half of the match yesterday.  The main problem was the same one we had in the last two gains: an inability to convert chances into goals, the lack of some vital spark (or the 'X-Factor', as Piers Morgan puts it in the Sportsmail pages today).  Hopefully, the second-half performance will give the team the encouragement it needs, but there's little doubt that a better team than Wigan would have punished us before the first 45 minutes were up yesterday.

10. Where's Carrick?  Like the Birmingham game last weekend, Michael Carrick didn't even warrant a place on the United bench yesterday.  You do wonder what's going on with him.  He's not injured, so far as any one knows, but he does seem to have been the target of some cryptic and critical remarks from Fergie.  Whatever's wrong, let's hope it gets sorted out soon - our central midfield is already looking a little thin, without us effectively losing Carrick.

11. The final word from Fergie.  Here's how the manager summarised the match:

"Overall I thought they played very well. We had six good chances in the first half, and you'd like to take one or two of them, but the important thing was to be patient, and keep playing the way they were playing."

So now back to Old Trafford, and the Arsenal next weekend.

Pete