It's official: The Arsenal team of 2003-04 are the greatest team of English football, ever!
So, another over-hyped Arsenal/Man Utd. 'derby' passes as water under the bridge and it ended up as a low scoring draw.
It was a good result for the Gunners, who have looked a little nervous in their previous two matches at the Home of Football. And for Man Utd? It's not the resut they were looking for. Still twelve points behind Arsenal and seven behind Chelsea, who look like they are going to be a big threat to any aspirations that Arsenal have of winning the title during the next eight games.
So, what conclusions can us Gunners draw from the match?
- Henry is undoubtedly worldclass and has proved once again that, like Patrick in midfield and Sol in defence, he is the cream of the attacking crop at Highbury, if not the Premiership.
- Patrick has learnt his 'lesson' to not rise to the bait of players who use devious means to get the skipper the red card. He let his football do the talking yesterday, and boy did it scream!
- van Nistelrooy is undoubtedly the biggest wet blanket in English football. A fine player and a lethal goalscorer, but once again he showed total over reaction to a tough, but fair, Vieira tackle. I always think of Man Utd as being a tough, gritty team much like the Arsenal, but a couple of this recent crop of United players seem a bit damp; Ronaldo, Ruud and Djemba-Djemba also looked to be lacking a bit of bottle too.
- Gary Neville has a bee in his bonnet about something recently. Every time I see United play he looks to be on the verge of losing his marbles. First it was the game at 'Boro when he almost wallopped the referee then the dive, headbutt combination on McManaman and yesterday he almost hospitalized the referee again after the dodgy no penalty call. I'm all for aggression and passion on the pitch but old Gary seems to be somewhat losing the plot. Maybe he should take a leaf out of our Patrick's book!
- People say that Wenger made some tactical errors last night in sending defensive players on while we had played Man Utd off the park with the attacking players we had. They said that if we had kept the likes of Pires and Reyes on we might not have conceeded that goal. They also say that this is Wnger's biggest weakness. I don't agree. To go thirty games unbeaten in the topsy-turvey Premier League is no mean feet, and who has a crystal ball that could predict what would have happenend if those players had stayed on the pitch?
And lastly, the moment of the match?
Henry's wondergoal apart, the moment in the tunnel before the game when Vieira and Keane both donning the captain's armbands to lead their respective teams onto the pitch. Maybe, two of THE greatest teams ever to play in the Premiership, if not the history of English football. Both player's fired in the same kiln of passion, aggression and ability. The moment when both of them looked at each other and tried, very badly, to subdue wry smiles of respect for each other, anticipation and passion for the game of football is an image I'll remember for a long time.
. But you'll miss Bergkamp when he goes, is it at the end of next season?
