humiliation, Arsène Wenger hopes
tomorrow's game at Old Trafford will
be different.
For the last seven years, Arsenal
have suffered routine defeat to
Manchester United, slipping from
their place as real rivals into one of
some inferiority. When they lost 8-2
at United two years ago, it felt like the
emphatic end of any meaningful race
between the two. But this game has a
fresh feel again. "It will be especially
new," Wenger said yesterday. "It will
be a bit strange."
Sir Alex Ferguson, of course, is gone,
and for the first time in his career
Wenger will be facing a United team
not led by his old adversary. For
reasons that could well be connected
to that, Arsenal are now seven places
and eight points ahead of United.
With David Moyes there is a new
feeling. Wenger, for the first time, is
the senior figure. The Arsenal
manager certainly thinks the change
will work to his advantage, with
Ferguson's old influence gone from
the touchline.
Asked whether Old Trafford is a
different place now, Wenger was
puckish. "That is a question you
should not ask me," he said, "but the
referees."
Wenger, in jokey mood, even
suggested there was a measure of
Ferguson's influence at United.
"Every year there is a company who
makes the table reasoned without the
referees' mistakes. So check that," he
said.
Almost on dangerous ground,
Wenger made clear that he believed
referees always acted professionally,
and that any influence they were
under was more geographical than
managerial. "I think the referees
were absolutely relaxed and happy to
go there. I expect the referees to
make the right decisions. I never
have preconceived ideas," he said.
"Their pressure comes as well from
the crowd when they go for every
ball and put the referee under
pressure. That's a bit more in the
north than in the south."
The unfamiliarity, Wenger hopes, will
belong to Moyes and not him. The
new United manager has far less
experience of collecting honours than
Wenger, having won only the Second
Division title in 2000 with Preston
North End and the Community Shield
at the start of this season.
"He will be under more pressure than
he was at Everton to deliver,
certainly," Wenger said. "My
pressure is consistent so that will
maybe change a little bit. It depends
as well how the season goes, how the
games go, because sometimes games
are more hectic, sometimes they're
clean; it's never predictable." Fighting
for titles takes some learning.
"Welcome to our world of
pressure..." he added.
United have not excelled so far this
season; even at Old Trafford they
have lost to West Bromwich Albion
and drawn with Southampton.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have just gone
to Borussia Dortmund and won.
Wenger, certainly confident about
their prospects, hopes they will play
with confidence and authority
tomorrow. "We believe we can get a
result. We go there like we go
everywhere, to control the game and
to win the game. We still think the
best way to win at Old Trafford is to
control the game, which means
taking the ball, keeping the ball and
having more possession than they
do."
This game will be the next test of his
team's growth, but they have
defeated Liverpool and Dortmund in
the last week and there is a new
confidence at Arsenal that they can
beat anyone in front of them.
They last won at Old Trafford over
seven years ago, when Emmanuel
Adebayor clinched a 1-0 victory with
four minutes left and there were still
four old Invincibles playing – Jens
Lehmann, Kolo Touré, Freddie
Ljungberg and Gilberto Silva. Since
then, United have won five titles, one
Champions League and two League
Cups, while Arsenal have won
nothing. This is a better Arsenal team
than the one form September 2006,
and with Mathieu Flamini returning
tomorrow, the ambition is not
misplaced.
"We are maybe a little less under
pressure because we have a little
advantage," Wenger said. "But we
have to use that in a positive way.
Our hunger will be tested there. How
much do we take advantage of this
situation or do we just go there and
say 'let's see what happens'?"
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
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