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Wednesday 12 February 2014

Will United be gunned down again?

What a difference (almost) a year makes. 10 months ago United traveled in great spirits to North London having just clinched the league title, as Arsenal, through grinned teeth, welcomed the newly-crowned champions on the pitch with a guard of honour, while United fans reminded Arsenal fans just how good Robin Van Persie really was.
Less than a year on and the guard of honour has almost turned into a walk of shame, with United so catastrophically bad that even the novelty factor deriving from being crap after two decades of success has now worn off, Reds seemingly accepting that the United we all knew has simply evaporated this season.

Considering that Arsenal were handed one of their worst thrashings since Dwight Yorke tore them apart in 22 minutes 13 years ago, one would expect United to travel south full of confidence and determined to deal another blow to the Gunners’ season, which, with superb timing, looks to be crumbling in February yet again.

Instead, United, perhaps for the first time in a long time, will step onto the pitch at the Emirates with very little hope of walking off it with a point or three in their pockets. Perhaps. Loss of faith? Not yet, not entirely anyway. Realistic approach? Absolutely, particularly given the dismal showing on Sunday.

The fact is, as we’ve known for quite some time this season, that United are nowhere near as good as they were last season nor, and that’s a lot more important, are they as mentally tough as they were – or rather, had to be – under Fergie, which doesn’t bode well for our hopes of winning tomorrow, given that Arsenal will be desperate to get their season back on track.

Talking tactics after what we’ve witnessed this season is about as useful as playing curling with a pair of slippers on and likely to be even less effective, given that the blueprint, whereas we like it or not, has been set: spray the ball wide, hoof it in the box, try to win it back. Repeat. Over and over again.

Likewise, talking about selection is similarly pointless, given that regardless of the personnel the tactics remain the same, with Juan Mata exiled on one of the wings, while Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie starved of chances, while Ashley Young receives the ball, checks back inside, drops his shoulder and then loses possession – Adnan Januzaj was rested against Fulham, but one suspects Moyes has caught Fergie’s “Young plays well in big games” bug.

Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley could start again in midfield – providing that Cleverley has stopped sobbing into his pillow about people who misunderstand his game, that is – while the less is said about the back four, the better. Is Rio Ferdinand still a footballer?Does Nemanja Vidic care anymore? Do we care about him caring or not anymore?

In years gone by, an under-performing United side slated by the press would have filled us with a strange sort of confidence ahead of such a big game. This side struggled to beat the side bottom of the league, have lost a third of their away games in the Premier League this season, while Arsenal have the league’s best defensive record at home.

David Moyes has said that he hopes a win at the Emirates could inspire his side for the remainder of the season and while his optimism and defiance are admirable, we all thought we had turned a corner when we beat Arsenal at home in November. It proved to be the first of many false dawns but, bar a minor miracle, we won’t have such a problem come Thursday morning, for it’s hard to fathom United getting anything at all tomorrow.

“20 times, 20 times Man United” – last season it epitomised our celebrations at the Emirates, tomorrow it’ll likely sound like a last bastion of defiance.

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