Although the destination of the Premier League title will not be decided this afternoon, Arsene Wenger is in no doubt that the Gunners must beat Man United at home, and turn the Emirates into a fortress, if they are going to be serious challengers this season.
Wenger told the Official Arsenal website: “These are always tough games,”
“Man United always have big teams, the golden generation brought them many… but they won all their championships at home.
“If you analyse the number of championships Man United have won, it’s always at Old Trafford.
“Without home form, you don’t win the championship, that’s for sure. We have a big game at home and the advantage is to win the big game at home.
“It’s the first massive game for the top of the table. It’s at home and you want to win.”
That is very brave words from Wenger ahead of such an important game. Basically he is asserting that this is a must-win-game in the race for the title. It is certainly a six-pointer, as we will either be level with Van Gaal’s side tonight or six points behind. I think this could be called a high pressure game from both sides.
Arsenal managed to win in our last crucial match against United, and that was at Old Trafford, so I can’t see any reason why we can’t do the same today. What I would really like is a convincing win so that the pundits actually start taking Arsenal seriously for a change.
Onwards and Upwards!