Avoiding defeat to United was vital

It took a moment for us to realise that a goal had been given in the dying throes of Saturday’s game.

From our position in the stands, we assumed Howard Webb was about to call time in the last chance saloon, once the ball had stopped ping-ponging around United’s penalty area and that we Gooners would be trudging out of the stadium seconds later, crestfallen at having ceded such a big psychological advantage to our main league rivals.

No prizes are handed out in November but while you won’t win a league title before all the leaves have fallen off the trees, you can definitely lose one (as, sadly, we’ve demonstrated all too ably these past couple of seasons), and I believe this was in the back of the minds of both managers in the tactical deployment of their troops.

Perhaps Wenger wouldn’t have opted to play 4-5-1 if Van Persie was fit, only he knows. Yet even if this was the optimum use of the players available to him on the day, if I’m honest, with the Arsenal’s star in its ascendancy, I was more than a little disappointed to be lining up at home against Man U, with a lone striker. Adebayor might have already bagged a handful of goals (before his current seven game barren streak) and has contributed to the team effort with his Trojan work rate, but I think most watchers would agree that when it has come to the crunch, in and around the penalty area, to date Ade has struggled to find his touch.

So it was that whilst we dominated possession in the centre of the park for long periods, the most common complaint on Saturday was that far too frequently when we advanced forward, there was no one in the box to be able to inflict any real damage. Whereas the more incisive approach play of Rooney, Tevez and co meant that although they saw less of the ball, they looked far more likely to threaten our goal with it, while we patiently tried to pass it through the eye of a needle.

Nevertheless there was some suggestion that United were guilty of showing us too much respect and I believe the recent progress of this Arsenal side was reflected in Fergie’s focus on containing us on the counter, with his midfield duo of Anderson and Hargreaves both sitting deep for much of the match and concentrating almost exclusively on their defensive duties.

I’m not sure there are too many Gooners who’d agree (just yet!) with the latest contention that Alex Hleb is the best player in the Premiership. For my money, too much of Alex’s best work still amounts to nought and he lacks sufficient pace to be able to support a lone-striker.

However Hleb’s poise and confidence increases apace with each passing game, to the point where he now has this matador-like quality which makes me want to shout ‘olé’ each time he drops a shoulder and leaves a defender for dead.

It’s not only Hleb who has benefited from our new-found fearlessness. Its awe inspiring watching the incredibly energetic Gael Clichy take on all-comers down the left flank, late in the game and on the rare occasion space opens up in front of Kolo Toure, he appears positively unstoppable when he storms forward. While with his preference for the number 10 shirt, you just know that Willie Gallas has never really accepted the limitations of his centre-back role, when just like every other child at heart footballer he continues to covet heroic goal-scoring ambitions.

I’d just been thinking how quiet Ronaldo had been when he popped up in the penalty area to tap home what looked like being the winning goal. Of the 60,000 present, it was perhaps only the 11 on the pitch who maintained their belief and refused to give up hope and this bodes very well for the massive challenge ahead. Other than this, some might draw conclusions about the comparative strengths of the two sides’ keepers, with Almunia responsible for a couple of obvious rickets and the possibility that United appear a little more solid in defence. Yet with the talent at Wenger’s disposal, why should we be bothered, when the occasional error at the back will only increase the prospect of our footballing pleasures. It was in this vein that I tried to console my neighbour at half-time on Saturday, by suggesting that at least going a goal behind meant that we were guaranteed a great second-half.