Arsenal v Man Utd Preview

Much of the early season plaudits have been going to Arsenal, and rightly so after taking 25 points from 27. However, for me the most dangerous team of the moment is Man Utd who are tearing side’s apart of late; the partnership of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez is becoming lethal and is mesmerizing for both defenders and fans. Utd have now found the way to regular goals after a few low scoring games early on, combine this with a defence that has leaked just 3 all season and everything is in place for Alex Fergsuon to launch his title challenge. Arsenal have added resilience and grit to their easy on the eye approach play, showing at times the skills needed to grind out results when their aesthetically pleasing intentions fail to come off. Both sides showing this kind of form bodes well for a fantastic earlier season clash at the Emirates Stadium on November 3rd.

Utd
For Utd, and worryingly for Arsenal and the rest of the Premiership, Wayne Rooney has returned to the exquisite form that led many to view him as one of the world’s best. Confidence always plays a significant part in a footballer’s life and Rooney has had a much-needed injection of it. Buoyed on by his stunning volley against Croatia, Rooney tore into Villa with little restraint, taking two neatly finished goals and setting up another. He could have had a hat-trick too were it not for a great penalty save from Stuart Taylor. When he is on the top of his game there is no stopping Rooney, he possesses great pace and power, which he used to create his penalty chance - Wilfred Bouma out-muscled and out-paced with ease. His best attributes though are the finesse and subtlety he shows around the edge of the box and it is these qualities that mark him out as a cut above your everyday player. He and Tevez now look to be on the same wavelength. On Saturday time and again they played one-twos, dummies and feints, wreaking havoc in Villa’s defence, both players constantly first looking for their strike partner in front of other team mates. Consistency has been a problem for Rooney and he has endured spells where he finds goals difficult to come by and this has meant he hasn’t been given the recognition by the wider world as to how good a player we in England know he is capable of being.

Indeed before Estonia Rooney conceded, 'If Emile was fit the manager would have had a difficult choice to make, I'm sure of that.' Another reason for his occasional shortage of goals is a preference to drop deep into midfield to help build attacks. For Rooney there is equal pleasure in creating a goal as there is scoring it himself. When he does find the net it usually brings about a flurry of goals in the following games, in October for example, he has bagged 6 in 5 games. There is a similarity in all this to the way Carlos Tevez operates, dropping off, slight inconsistency mixed with electrifying displays. However when they are both firing then you put up the barricades and hope for the best, as Villa found to their cost.

Gunners
Arsenal’s barricades refused to be breached by Bolton on Saturday as the Gunners notched up their 10th clean sheet in all competitions this season. They will need similar sturdiness when the top two sides meet in a fortnight’s time and will be pleased by the successful return of captain William Gallas. For all Arsenal’s early season dominance, they have yet to be sufficiently tested and have not met with any of the big sides this season. Tottenham away was Arsenal’s most impressive result (3-1) but their rivals have been far from their best this season. Importantly Arsenal have showed ruthlessness in gaining maximum points from weaker sides in the division that was missing over the last season or two though, and this may become more notable towards the end of the campaign. Arsene Wenger’s side can only beat teams laid before him and they have carried domestic form into Europe with efficient wins over Steaua Bucharest and Sevilla. The real value of Arsenal’s challenge on the Premier League title will be become clearer from the results of their next few games. After Sparta Prague on Tuesday they travel to Liverpool next weekend while Man Utd are at home to Middlesbrough and these results could set the mood for their clash the following week, 'If we get over these two hurdles we'll be very confidenta bout dealing with Man Utd.' Wenger said.

Arsenal have slight injury concerns too, striker Robin van Persie returned from international duty with a jarred knee and will be out for 3-4 weeks. Van Persie has been in scintillating form this season and he more than any, has sought about claiming Thierry Henry’s elevated place in the eyes of the manager and the fans. Emanuelle Adebayor will no doubt lead the line in van Persie’s absence and he has had a fine start to the season. Adebayor looks every bit like a younger, rawer Didier Drogba. He needs only to work on his composure in front of goal before he could become a great player. Wenger will expect more from new signing Eduardo who has taken a while to settle at The Emirates, despite some polished displays in Europe.

Prediction
I predict a close run battle, highly contested with many fouls breaking up the play. It promises to be a fascinating match, with inevitable talking points. I expect Adebayor to cause Rio Ferdinand many problems with his strength and power, the likes of Tomas Rosicky and Alex Hleb looking to feed off any knock downs and hold up play. Paul Scholes and Cesc Fabregas’ duel promises to be a great match up - the old pass master versus the new prodigy. Arsenal may adopt a 4-5-1 system leaving Gilberto Silva or Mathieu Flamini to sit in front of the back four to counter the deep lying Tevez or Rooney, who could be the match winner. Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy will have to be at their best to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo. Final prediction: Draw.