It was a hard earned, but yet so precious 3 points for Manchester United today as they managed to win at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal, as Manchester City had taken a 6 points lead before United kicked off, but now the gap is back to 3 points to put the pressure again on the Citizens, while Arsenal must be dreading the worst as they failed to win for the 3rd consecutive time.
United did not give an impressive display, but managed to do the damage in the first half added time, as Valencia rose to meet Giggs’ cross and made no mistake to guide it past the wrong footed Szczesny. In the meantime, United had lost Jones for what looked like a twisted ankle, and he was replaced by Rafael. Arsenal left the field at half-time with some mild boos echoing from the stands. However, they came back with other intentions in the second half, and Van Persie nearly capitalized on Smalling’s slip, but his shot was just off target. United were more timid to attack, but Welbeck was presented with a golden chance to double the lead, however his goal-bound effort was too soft, and Mertesacker was quick to react and clear it away. United were then made to pay for Rafael’s adventurous forward run, as he lost the ball in the Arsenal box, and with a quick counter-attack, Oxlade-Chamberlain found Van Persie, who managed to squeeze in a shot through the legs of Evans, and past the desperate dive of Lindegaard. United looked stunned as the Gunners tried to score another, but Sir Alex brought on Scholes and Park to get his midfield back in control. Valencia, shifted to right back role, made his presence felt as United attacked again, and following a clever one-two with Park, he fed Welbeck with an easy finish, and United held on eventually to the 1-2 lead to secure the 3 points, although Arsenal came close again, but Evans managed to guide the ball to Lindegaard for safety.
Earlier, Man City as well had to battle hard, as despite leading 2-0, they were almost immediately caught back by Tottenham, and it needed a last minute penalty in their favour, converted by Balotelli, to secure their win, as minutes earlier, Defoe missed a golden chance for Spurs to score their third, but it was City which came out 3-2 victors in this match.
