Ah! Yes but wait. The Man Utd stalwarts will remind us is the small question of the 12 point lead that the Red Devils enjoy over Arsenal. Short of a secession from the FA or an outright implosion of the team, this lead looks insurmountable. And likely to remain as Man Utd faces teams down the home stretch that it has beaten quite comfortably in the past.
However, when it comes down to playing the highlight reels of the season’s games and the video clips courtesy the good folks at You Tube, there will be only one result that will matter. The dismantling of the Red Devils at the hands of the Gunners. Utterly and comprehensively beaten in the last 10 minutes of Saturday’s game. Man U might still walk away with this year’s Premiership but it will walk away knowing fully well that it was not the best team. The defeats at Old Trafford and at the Emirates are reminders of that pyrrhic victory.
The Gunners actually played a subpar game on Saturday and their final touch was awful with Rosicky the perpetrator on numerous occasion either being too forceful or too tentative. As seems to be the wont, in this game too, Arsenal was missing key personnel without the steadying influence of Gilberto and the less experienced Flamini filling in. However, along the way, the young Guns have found what the English call, character. Oddly enough in the one team that lacks an English starter. At various points Arsenal have been without Henry, Rosicky, Fabregas, Toure, Eboue, and Gilberto but have managed to fight back admirably. Man Utd on the other hand have been blessed with very few injuries. In Saturday’s game a new myth was created and an old one buried: Arsenal as the comeback kings and not writing off Man Utd till the final whistle blew.