Well this was a big match, and it was made even bigger by the result at Stamford Bridge the day before. Chelsea beat Spurs, and moved to within three points of United for the title. If United wanted to stretch that back to six ahead of the next clash with the Blues at Old Trafford, they needed a win at the Emirates.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure the play lived up to the hype, though there were certainly some more controversial moments. One had to wonder how the Gunners would respond after a string of disappointing results.
They actually responded quite well, and outplayed United for most of the match. They came out all guns blazing, no pun intended. In the 3rd minute, Wilshere got a nice look but hit the shot wide. Arsenal kept coming though. In the 8th minute Theo Walcott hit a shot just over, and in the 15th he found himself inside the United 6, only to have Evra poke the ball away at the last second.
United finally got a little possession after this spell, but that came crashing to a halt in the 32nd when Walcott delivered an expert ball toward Van Persie in the area. Vidic stuck a hand up, and clearly knocked the ball away, but no penalty was awarded. I don't normally care, but Arsenal got screwed.
That was the last big action before the half, and we went in the break at 0-0. Arsenal had the better of possession, but once again had nothing on the score sheet to show for it. The Vidic handball was a big talking point.
The first real chance of the second half fell to United. In the 49th minute, Wayne Rooney lined up over a free kick. Looking confident, he smacked the shot on target only to have it saved. United would rue the missed chance.
In the 56th minute, Robin Van Persie sliced and diced the United defense. Just when it looked like they had his run stopped in the 18, he kicked the ball out to Ramsey who slotted hit home to give Arsenal the 1-0 lead.
United looked a little stunned, and really tried to get the goal back, but they had a hard time prying the ball away from the Gunners. Chelsea was getting closer in the rear view mirror. In the 77th minute, Rooney and Nani ran on a breakaway, and it looked like the equalizer was coming for United, but Nani's shot was saved, and Arsenal took the 1-0 victory.
The three points helped Arsenal keep a grip on the 3rd place and keep them in a fight for second. More importantly, it sets up what is probably the EPL match of the year next week at Old Trafford: United vs. Chelsea. The winner very likely takes all the marbles. Footy at it's best.
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