It is that time of the year and that time of the season again in English Premier League when two heavyweights in form of Arsenal and Manchester United meet this Saturday. The two teams have had immense rivalry over more than two decades now with many historical events like the 'Pizza Gate' incident in 2004 and another controversial one with Andre Santos swapping shirts with Robin Van Persie during the halftime. Even though before Chelsea or Manchester City entered the picture, the title has always been hopping in between North London and Manchester. Statistically Manchester United have been better than Arsenal. The rivalry continues. But this time the reasons for the fight are different.
This time instead of looking at the realistic title expectations both the teams expect to make it top four and eventually a Champions League spot. It's strange how the aspirations can change within a matter of few months. With Chelsea looking increasingly confident of clinching the title well ahead of time, both the managers do not look confident of fighting for the title. The clash is more about a reply to each other than a response to others in the race. The supporters definitely have felt the pain of their team's changed objectives.
Coming into the match
A good mixture of superb talent, visible flaws in the squad, fantastic managers and probably one of the most apparent characteristics of this season - Inconsistency & Injuries. After some desperate attempts to make the most of transfer market, the two teams have been plagued by injuries to many first team players who might make a difference on a given day. With Arsenal's Welbeck, Wilshire and The Ox finding some form in the same game when Rooney scored a brace in their Euro Qualifiers days ago, it will be exciting for the Pundits to analyse the strategies. In terms of injuries Arsenal definitely have some advantage over The Red Devils as Giroud and Walcott expect to be fit and come off the bench and score the winning goal. There a couple of swaps across the teams. With Robin Van Persie once again threatening to score against his former club on their own turf, Danny Welbeck will be facing his childhood club. It will be a delight to see him score tomorrow.
Is it the changed aspirations or will this be a change in fortune for either of these teams? As they say 'Anything can happen in football'.
Being a Gooner I am betting on a 2-1 win for Arsenal, what about you?
