Arsenal go to Old Trafford tomorrow needing a win to make sure that we do not drop more than one game’s worth of points behind the current Premier League leaders, with Liverpool sitting on top of the table on 26 points, Chelsea one behind with 25 and the Gunners fourth and level on points with third placed Man City on 24.
With Manchester United six points behind us and struggling for form and beset with injury and suspension problems, a lot of people are expecting Jose Mourinho to go back to his old tactics that have often been ridiculed as the parking of a bus but have often been effective in stopping other teams from scoring in the big games.
One Arsenal player who does not think this will be the United approach is also the one who knows their manager better than anyone else at Arsenal, because our keeper Petr Cech spent many years under the Portuguese manager in both of his spells in charge of Chelsea.
Our number one explained that their current situation and the high expectation from fans and the pressure for Mourinho to succeed all add up to the fact that Man United are more in need of the points than we are, which means that parking the bus, so to speak, will not be an option.
Cech told Arsenal Player, “It is another six-point game. We drew the match against Spurs and there is a little gap between us and Liverpool, so you want to make sure that you stay very close and that every time they drop points, you are ready to take advantage.
“With United, they are behind us, so to leave them [further] behind is one aim and the second thing is to stay near the top, within touching distance of everyone else.
“If United want to think about closing the gap and having a chance to fight for the title, they need the three points.
“It is a big game for both teams and they will try to give themselves a chance, and we have to be ready to adapt to their way of playing. As the match goes, you want to impose your game and control what is happening.
“It is always a big game, regardless of the positions of both teams in the table but this time I think it could be a really significant win for us and a really significant loss for them.”
If Cech is right then I think it will be great news for Arsenal and make our chances of securing the points a lot better, so do you think United will be on the attack against Arsenal?
Bob.
I think they’ll all defend together, and I expect a decent number to commit forward. But I expect us at times to commit more men forward, and if we’re not careful Mourinho will be counting on those moments.
It will be a close affair one would imagine, neither team wanting to make the first mistake. We need one of our forwards to prove to us that we really have the credentials.
OffTopic: 3rd time registering here. Admin must be very dedicated to delete accounts after 1 month inactivity.(I am here everyday, don’t see a reason to post more often than not…)
OnTopic: I constantly watch recent news about Arsenal and just watched Wenger interview with Sky sports. very Honest and constructive one. he (Wenger) mentioned that he gets paid 8 mill a year to make the right decision and it comes 2:30 pm Saturday we will know if he did. He was happy that Ozil was rested and mentioned some options on the right back. this Interview was conducted Thursday Morning. Pretty happy seeing him mentioning some stuff I always doubted if he considers.