Last Weekend's Results were Awesome!

I don’t think a single Manchester United fan could have imagined a more perfect weekend in the Premier League than the one we’ve just experienced.

Going into the weekend’s fixtures, a large number of fans were already fearing the worst. A win for 

Arsenal at Old Trafford would have left us 11 points off the pace, an almost insurmountable deficit, but could also have left us trailing even further behind to Man City and Chelsea who quite rightly, were backed to easily win their games against Sunderland and West Brom respectively. With Sunderland’s awful form and Mourinho’s imperious home record, it seemed as if both clubs would register three points, and put United under even more pressure to get a result against Arsenal.

What transpired instead has meant that United have closed the gap on their rivals at the top of the table, and put us right back in the mix to launch a title challenge. Chelsea dropped two points at home to West Brom with a 2-2 draw thanks to a shocking penalty decision in the 95th minute which allowed Eden Hazard to equalise, and Manchester City were unable to turn their away form around by slipping to a 1-0 to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

With two of United’s title rivals dropping points, it was imperative that United took 3 points off Arsenal, and the all-round performance from United was by far the best of the season. Wayne Rooney was at his sensational best once again, covering every blade of grass on the pitch and lead by example in his number 10 position and set the tone for the rest of the team to follow. Robin Van Persie did what he does best, and scored the only goal of the game from a Wayne Rooney corner in the 27th minute, and if he needed to endear himself anymore to the United crowd, he did so with his passionate celebration which showed Arsene Wenger just how far from an ‘Arsenal man’ he really is. In midfield, it was clear that Carrick wasn’t at his best which we can attribute to the achilles injury he was playing through but Phil Jones however, was simply sensational throughout and managed to keep Arsenal’s trio of Mesut Özil, Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla quiet pretty much all game. He broke up play, intercepted passes and his pace and power was too much for Arsenal’s midfield to handle. It was the first time all season where I can honestly say everyone had a good game.

United’s win over Arsenal now leaves them in a position where they can push on and challenge for the title. There are now only five points behind Arsenal, who occupy first place, one point behind Chelsea, and one point ahead of Manchester City thanks to their woeful away form. Out of the seven teams who started the weekend above United in the table, only Southampton and Liverpool didn’t drop points, with Everton drawing away at Crystal Palace, and Tottenham losing at home to Newcastle. It means that not only did United close the gap at the top of the table, but they also jumped from eighth to fifth, which although is not a huge deal, can act as a confidence booster.

I had previously written off United title hopes, which I attributed to Moyes needed time to build his own team and to get to know the players he has properly, however I’ve changed my tune slightly. United have now put together a nine match unbeaten run and are looking a much stronger outfit than the team we watched lose miserably to Man City and West Brom. We are in the Capital One Cup Quarter-Finals, unbeaten in Europe, and are slowly clawing our way back into the title race. Although 

I still believe it will take a monumental effort for Moyes to win the Premier League in his first season in charge, I think there is a greater possibility to do so than there was earlier in the season. This is not an over-reaction to United’s win over Arsenal on Sunday, more of an observation of the obvious weaknesses of United’s competitors. Man City have to find a way to deal with their away form, Chelsea look as inconsistent as ever and although Arsenal have looked good up to this point, most of their squad do not have the experience of being in a title race all season, so it will be interesting to see how they handle it.

The next couple of months will give us a better indication on whether United can mount a sustained challenge for the title. In December alone, United have seven games in the league including a difficult trip to Tottenham. Although there are some difficult away trips to negotiate between now and January, you would expect United to take close to maximum points from them. Everton, Newcastle and West Ham travel to Old Trafford, whilst United have away days at Cardiff City, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Hull and Norwich. It’s a tough run of fixtures, especially when they come so quickly after one another but it is an opportunity to really put pressure on Arsenal and Liverpool. Arsenal play both Man City and Chelsea during the winter period and are bound to drop points at some point during that time and Moyes will be aware that now is the perfect opportunity to push on and put them under pressure.

If we manage to reach the new-year without falling further behind then I think we stand a much better chance of retaining the title. Whilst our rivals most likely won’t add too many new faces, if any, during that time, it seems as if Moyes is gearing up for a busy January. After only signing Marouane Fellaini from Everton in the summer, it seems as if Moyes is ready to spend big on the players he wants to bring in. Who the players are remains to be seen, apart from Baines of course, but I have no doubt that once the January window closes, United will be a much stronger force than before and as a result will be able to mount a serious title challenge.