{"id":6041,"date":"2022-04-22T13:33:37","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T12:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=6041"},"modified":"2022-04-23T22:15:56","modified_gmt":"2022-04-23T21:15:56","slug":"believe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=6041","title":{"rendered":"Believe!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1392612639\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:64.47812% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1392612639?et=imDMVrIZTfRxZZJzJdqGAA&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=B3gieG9i4YgkQmvsGLWGoBsMbRvSCcgD6JL9APhV_bc=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\" width=\"594\" height=\"383\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Arsenal vs Manchester United!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once a battle of Titans.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vieira against Keane. Keown against van Nistleroy. For over a decade these matches were highly competitive and often determined the destination of trophies. Passions were invariably close to the surface and often spilled over like in the \u2018First Battle of Old Trafford\u2019 in 1990 and the \u2018Second Battle of Old Trafford\u2019 in 2002 not to mention the violence wreaked by the Neville thugs on Jose Antonio Reyes in 2004 which any decent official would have prevented &#8211; a match that ended in insufficient retribution for Ferguson in the \u2018Pizza-gate\u2019 episode. The Hand of Nemesis is yet to strike Mike Riley for his highly questionable part in those proceedings. It will, one day. Hopefully hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When United\u2019s plan wasn\u2019t simply to kick our talented players off the pitch, our threat some 20 years ago often made Ferguson adopt Mourinho-esque tactics, adding defensive players to his line up to suppress our flair and hoping to strike on the break. The \u2018kick Arsenal to bits \u2018cos they don\u2019t like it up \u2018em\u2019 and the \u2018rope a dope strategy\u2019 became much more widely practised against us but Ferguson\u2019s United were the instigators of both approaches.&nbsp; Our reduced potency due to financial restrictions and Wenger\u2019s invariable approach of simply \u2018playing our game\u2019, meant we increasingly fell into those traps. Indeed, but for Danny Welbeck\u2019s goal delivering FA Cup victory at the Old Toilet, I struggle to recall a match in which we did ourselves justice against the Red Mancs. Even when they were at their lowest ebbs under Ferguson, Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho and Smeagol and struggling against every Tom, Dick and Harry, we frequently managed to deliver performances that somehow spared them the thrashing that should have been their lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And thus, in the historic trajectory of these two clubs, we come to today.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two clubs that enjoyed record breaking success under all-powerful managers with tenures of 22 and 26 years respectively have undergone turmoil both on and off the field since the departures of those managers and now face each other in a tawdry competition for fourth place along with a no mark outfit from Middlesex who sadly seem best placed at the moment. United are in a mess under a temporary coach whose instructions to the team appear to confuse them and whose temporary status handicaps his authority in the dressing room. They\u2019ve won 4 of their last 14 games in all competitions and their fans are again mounting major protests at their owners. While watching the recent Liverpool defeat, Neville senior said, \u201cI\u2019ve been watching United for 42 years and this is as bad as it gets! It\u2019s an all-time low! They\u2019re broken.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It may not matter much but Fred is likely to be absent with a groin injury, as may be Pogba who limped off after only 10 minutes against Liverpool. Varane and Cavani have been unavailable for a while and may still be out. However, United can rely on the sporadic brilliance of some talented individuals who remain on their payroll as they did when a hattrick from Ronaldo salvaged three points against the Premier League\u2019s bottom team. There is no doubt that whatever team they field they will have players who can hurt us if we are careless. I initially expected Rangnick to adopt the Ferguson\/Mourinho strategy of conceding possession with a deep block, awaiting our mistakes and breaking at speed to strike through our overcommitted defence. We\u2019ve seen it far too often to be surprised. What amazes me is how we fall into that trap so often.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In goal they will certainly play de Gea who has single-handedly thwarted us on multiple occasions over the years. Expect him to eclipse Forster\u2019s blinder of last weekend. I thought they would probably opt for security and start with three at the back with Maguire, Lindelof and one other, probably Bailly or Jones as Varane is almost certainly still out due to injury. Recently, Wan-Bissako and Dalot have been their wingbacks. However, against Liverpool they reverted to a back four at half time after an extremely poor defensive performance in the first half and did look better for 20 minutes until Liverpool\u2019s third goal. Therefore, I now expect them to line up against us with a back four. In central midfield I think we will face Matic and McTominay throwing their weight around if Pogba has been properly crocked with Fernandes as their most advanced midfielder. Up front is less predictable, given the many options at their disposal. I expect Rangnick to start the perennially pert Ronaldo after his midweek compassionate leave. Ronaldo seems always to have produced his best against us \u2013 it\u2019s high time that changed! Rashford, may be asked to continue to play his way out of his slump and will be joined by either Elanga, whom Rangnick has favoured recently or even the hitherto disappointing Sancho.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A tactic that Ferguson might well have chosen instead of a low block with breakaways (I know so little about Rangnick that I can\u2019t gauge the possibility of him adopting this tactic) is to start with a high tempo attacking line up aiming to blow us away early in the first half as he did in that deeply disappointing second leg of the 2009 Champions League Quarter Final at the Emirates. Then they took a 2-0 lead within 10 minutes and we never recovered our poise (I can show you my scar!). With a 0-1 deficit from the first leg at the Old Toilet, thanks to a brilliant performance by Almunia, we believed we could win that tie. That belief was punctured both on and off the pitch within 10 minutes. This recently goal-shy Arsenal team may be even less likely to recover from such a bad start than their predecessors were \u2013 though the spirit shown by this team when twice swiftly pegged back by Chelsea this week might give the lie to that suggestion. Will Rangnick play it safe or take a punt on an early all-out attack to catch us out? How will the Anfield drubbing affect his strategy in this game? Time will tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>STOP PRESS: As I was putting finishing touches to this piece, United announced the appointment of Ajax coach Erik ten Hag as their permanent manager from the end of the season, along with Schteve McClaren as his assistant. Who knows what impact that will have on Saturday\u2019s game? We are certainly used to suffering from a new manager bounce in opponents. However, making this announcement now, possibly in an attempt to placate current fan protests, seems as likely to erode further the current coach\u2019s authority in the dressing room and his attempts to make them play to his system as it is to inspire their players to try harder to convince the new coach that they deserve to be in his plans. Whether it has an impact or not, we have to rise to the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are what we are! A young team in the middle of a rebuild with clear signs of progress but also with as clear signs of key areas in need of marked improvement. The most notable deficiency is of course the absence of a reliable goal scorer. Our dream of fourth place being in our own hands has been shaken after a series of disappointing results prior to the Chelsea game. Our callow youths who have delivered so much and raised our hopes so high have been handicapped by our loss through injury of the experience and leadership of our wisest old heads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After several weeks of unproductive toil, Lacazette was struck down by Covid-19 and finally perforce replaced by Nketiah. The young &#8216;wannabe&#8217; was pretty unimpressive against Southampton. Although one might raise a defence of ring rustiness given how little he has played this season, the paucity of his second half contribution against the Saints when we needed to salvage the game, made me doubt the wisdom of his selection whenever Lacazette again became available. If it was between those two I would have started the Frenchman. But that thought was prior to Nketiah\u2019s spirited performance and brace against Chelsea. In that game he showed the value of pace up front and his eye for goal and without question, he will, if fit, start against United. Before the Chelsea game, I had even accepted Dr Faustus\u2019s long held and oft reiterated suggestion that Martinelli should lead the line to revive our central attack but that experiment can be put on hold. Eddie has earned the right to start against United and potentially also to join our pantheon of promising young guns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was also delightful to watch the return to form of ESR and Saka against Chelsea \u2013 what cojones that little fella has! The courage he showed to take that penalty! I love him to bits! As Arteta did in that Chelsea game, I would start with ESR and keep Martinelli as a fresh pair of legs for use as a late substitute. Elneny had an outstanding performance alongside Xhaka so, for me, he should keep his place. I would play with a back four as the White-Gabriel partnership seemed to grow in security as the season progressed, hoping they recover their poise. Unless Tomiyasu has recovered sufficiently to start, the rest of the team is pretty much self-selecting given our long-term absences. I would stick with Tavares at left back in view of his last two performances that hopefully, while neither perfect nor offering the security of KT3, lay the ghosts of his miserable experience against Forest. His presence on the left adds balance to the defence and midfield. Hence my team would be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Ramsdale;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Tomiyasu\/Cedric, White, Gabriel, Tavares;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Elneny, Xhaka;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Saka, Odegaard, Smith-Rowe;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Nketiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Holic Pound, you ask?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s still going to Ukraine. All bets are off in this household!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What do I expect? I really don\u2019t know! We have bounced from imperious to lethargic to dynamic over just a few weeks. Can we produce rapid penetrating runs through a pedestrian Manure defence as we did against Chelsea but failed to do in the three matches prior? We clearly have people who can run in behind defences and we have players who can find them. Just do it, Arsenal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What do I hope for? I hope that we can do ourselves justice against a club that in recent years seems to have sapped our confidence no matter how badly they themselves have been playing. Too often we have failed to gain our just deserts against them. I hope that our players can display the talent they possess. I hope that we can create and take chances. I hope that we can recapture the defensive security that seemed to vanish against Palace and Brighton and wasn\u2019t exactly there against Chelsea. Finally, I hope that we win the damn game! 1-0 will do fine, but frankly, at this point, any kind of win will do.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>COYG!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester United!&nbsp; Once a battle of Titans.&nbsp; Vieira against Keane. Keown against van Nistleroy. For over a decade these matches were highly competitive and often determined the destination of trophies. Passions were invariably close to the surface and often spilled over like in the \u2018First Battle of Old Trafford\u2019 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6041"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6041"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6064,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6041\/revisions\/6064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}