JANUARY 8 REMEMBER THE DATE?

With Arsenal on the horizon, beN stANLeY wonders what was the greater occasion, may 8th or January 3rd?

ed had a play-off final, then a semifinal, so the third season in League 1 was beginning to get tiresome, and winning automatic promotion back to the second tier was certainly a monumental occasion. But the lads FA Cup run provided a different kind of excitement, not to mention some long awaited bragging rights! For me, knocking the scum out of the FA Cup in the third round was the highlight of last season. Seeing Fergie chomping through a multipack of Wrigleys Extra gave me more satisfaction than the prospect of a Championship season. Not just another FA Cup David and Goliath, but something Whites everywhere couldve only dreamed of. In Fergies 23 year stint, the scum had never been knocked out by a lower division side, nor had they ever lost in the 3rd round of the cup. During Sundays draw for 2011s third round, Oasis Noel Gallagher picked out ball 20 after ball number one, meaning for our boys, The Emirates await. Playing the Gunners is a much anticipated fixture in many ways. Despite not winning silverware since the FA Cup in 2005, Arsenal are without a doubt a top four English club,

and strong contenders in Europe. They play fantastically exquisite football, something Gary Mac tried to bring to United during his term with the club; he is now attempting to bring this style to Tad Albion! In the last 18 months United have lost to Liverpool, drawn and lost to Spurs, and of course, beat the scum, not a bad record against the top clubs. Not only do I like the way the Gunners play, but I also admire the way the club is run. Unlike Chelsea and Man Citys gross spending tactics, Arsenal run themselves the way clubs should do. Wenger has a knack of spotting talent in players from a young age, and rather than paying for big names, players arrive, virtually un-heard of, and make a name for themselves in North London. Marouane Chamakh is the latest case of this. His 6ft 2in stature has brought another dimension to Arsenals game. Where before they looked to pass the ball quickly through defence, Chamakhs aerial threat means they are now beginning to utilise crosses and long balls in behind defences as well. When Van Persie and Fabregas return from injury, they can be very dangerous, not to mention the in form Samir Nasri.

Arsenal are often criticised for not killing games off, they play some lovely football, go one up, then lack concentration and allow their opponents to come from behind. But in this case I think our boys need to be scoring first if there is to be any chance. They tend look for the attractive goal and take one pass too many, rather than taking every chance they get. United have managed to find themselves in 4 FA Cup finals, winning once, the Centenary Cup final of 1972, where an Allan Clarke header ended Arsenals successive FA Cup wins. This is also the day Leeds Leeds Leeds (MOT) was born. There isnt the same rivalry with the Gunners as with the scum obviously, but there should be enough to spur the lads on. Under the Wenger era, the Gunners have only lost at home in the FA Cup once, by Leeds in the 96/97 season; all other FA Cup defeats have come away from home for Arsenal. In the case of 03/01/10 the winning formula was 100% passion, zero expectation. No-one expected a white victory, and this will be the case for next year too. Playing for a club like Leeds, the boys are under constant pressure as expectations are so high. Its that relief of pressure they had in Salford, that produced the result. This fixture also resonates with me on a personal level. I first set foot inside ER when I was 14, in 2004, against the Gooners. That was to be the penultimate clash, where we lost 4-1. The last time we played Arsenal was later that season; we lost again, 5-0. But what got me hooked from that point was seeing how

seeing Fergie chomping through a multipack of Wrigleys extra gave me more satisfaction than the prospect of a championship season

everyone inside ER was singing and showing the same passion they would if the score line was reversed. There is no doubt that the 8,500 travelling fans can show enough of that this time round, as always. In terms of the team selection, I think Arsene is wise and experienced enough to show us the respect we deserve and field a decent starting 11, as Fergie did a year ago, selecting Rooney and Berbatov as his strike force. Wenger is also about to enter the final year of his contract, and after having not won silverware for 5 years, will be feeling pressure to field the big hitters, and progress in the competition. Well be very lucky to produce a passing movement that can penetrate their back four, and it will undoubtedly turn into a game of oofball, which our defence have had a lot of practise as of late. But after all it was a Jonny Howson punt up field that found a quicker than most Jermaine Beckford (RIP) that ended the scummers FA Cup run. I think the main focus will be to get the ball in the box by any means possible, and hope we can get something on the end of it. Luch is the best bet, he will try to find himself in good positions and produce some classic poaching. The main weakness is that Arsenal dont yet have a world class keeper, or centre-backs. And whereas the midfield battle might be over before kickoff, a long ball in behind an inconsistent defence, and who knows, ecstasy once again in early January? TSB

22

2010-2011 Season Issue 5

The Square Ball

Magazine Podcast Forum

thesquareball.net

23