And they said it was going to be Arsenal's year.
For all the hype of the potential of Wenger's young squad, the mercurial maturation of Fabregas, the talismanic trickery of Arshavin or the pulsating pace of Walcott, the team that once earned the tag of "the Invincibles" failed spectacularly in living up to the labels and legacies of their predecessors.
"Gunners out-gunned" will be a much-repeated headline all over Britain and other Premier League-crazy areas like here in Singapore as the fallout of the match at the Emirates begins to take hold. And it will be a stunningly accurate summary of the meeting between two of European football's longest-serving and most successful managers, between the teams that have long boasted the most attractive football in the League.
Many Arsenal fans will cry out and be quick to remind others that their squad was missing their regular goal-machine Robin Van Persie, nursing an injury. Still, for a team gunning (pun intended) for top honors to rely so much on an injury-prone striker is distressing, to say the least. Critics may argue, though, that the Red Devils are guilty of the same crime, but one will point out that the United No. 10 is much more robust than the somewhat-fragile Dutchman.
Brazilian-born Croat Eduardo was also missing for Arsenal, of course, which definitely would have contributed to Arsenal's lack of bite upfront. Prudent observers, however, will realize that United were also missing the first-choice pairing at the back of Ferdinand and Vidic, arguably one of the best partnerships in Europe over the last few years. Other casualties to injury of late, Thomas Vermaelen and Gael Clichy, featured instead for the Gunners and while Vermaelen bagged a superb consolation for his seventh goal in a stellar debut season, Clichy was found wanting yet again, as he was against Ashely Young mid-week. Given Ashley Cole's and Kieran Gibbs' past misfortunes against Man Utd, it was perhaps inevitable. And when the only other replacements that Wenger had at his disposal were the aged Sol Campbell and Mikael Silvestre, problems are aplenty.
Manchester United's defence has long been the subject of both praise and scrutiny, often at the same time. With Gary Neville, Ferdinand and Vidic missing for large parts of the past year or more, the burden of responsibility has been laid on what many consider to be the unproven shoulders of Johnny Evans, Wes Brown and the Da Silva twins, Rafael and Fabio. Evans had a decent game for the most part, with a couple of errors that went unpunished as well as excellent interventions on several occasions, one fine tackle in particular that stopped Theo Walcott as the forward looked to use his pace to deadly effect. Rafael again proved every bit the Brazilian that he is, surging forward to aid United's attacking cause, and showing an enthusiasm that at times bordered on the reckless. In time, his defensive awareness should improve, and playing alongside the excellent Patrice Evra will not hurt him in the very least. Wes Brown, though, appears set to follow the footsteps of Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and Louis Saha; established and perhaps international players who are unable to hold down a place in the United first team due to a lack form, fitness, ability or the combination of the three. So often touted as an exciting prospect in defence, he is not the youngster he was so very long ago, and the purchase of Chris Smalling and the emergence of Ritchie De Laet alongside the Da Silva twins will not bode well for him.
For much of January, attention has been placed on off-the-field matters for the big names in the Premier League: American debt and unpaid wages, one-finger salutes and hurled coins, roving England captains and sulking Brazilian wingers. The match itself, though, was a thrilling contest (unless you are an Arsenal fan) filled with end-to-end action and somewhat surprisingly, only one caution. It is perhaps a testament to the professionalism and respect that the two teams and managers have for each other that the days of air-borne pasta and incidents of assault against Jose Antonio Reyes are as long-gone as the spats between Roy Keane and Patrick Viera.
It may have been wise, though, for Arsenal to have looked at their former captain. Perhaps more so than any other instance in the past, Fabregas proved that while he may stroke the ball better than anyone else in the Premier League, he lacks the leadership that Viera and then Henry provided on the pitch. Hailed and renown for his ability to turn a match on its head for the club he captains, he was left a spectator for the most part, often reduced to pot shots from distance, and never really troubled Edwin Van Der Sar and unable to influence the game in any sense. True enough, he has many years to develop that part of his game, but in a world where immediate prizes are valued over intagible potential, one questions if that is a worthy excuse. Andrei Arshavin, however, proved a constant thorn in United's side, though his attacking thrust was aided in no small part by the forward-thinking mindset of marker Rafael Da Silva. Even the Russian, however, was unable to come anywhere close to the astronomical heights he has so often reached during his time with the Gunners and he was thwarted time and again by the iron curtain of the makeshift United backline.
A good defence might give you a chance to win games, but to actually win you need a good attack, and United put on a clinic for Wenger, so long an advocate of free-flowing attacking football. Wayne Rooney, in the form of his life, hounded the entire Arsenal team like a man possessed, taking his goal expertly in the week that Ruud Van Nistelrooy opted for the Bundesliga rather than a return to the Premier League. There are many calls for Rooney to take over the England captaincy from a certain overly-friendly John Terry, and displays like this, combining pace, precision and passion show just why he seems to be destined for that mantle and more. Nani appears to have finally stepped out from the shadow of compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo, shedding his much-maligned persona of the Portugese who does little but acrobatics upon the rare goal and more often when tackled. If you would have told the average United fan a month ago that Nani would be instrumental in three wins in little over a week, he would have laughed in your face. A Man-of-the-Match performance against the old enemies from North London showed just how much improved he is. Michael Carrick, together with a vintage Paul Scholes display and the ever-improving Darren Fletcher effectively dictated the pace of the game, matching and surpassing their opponent's skill, strength and stamina.
During this pivotal juncture of the Premier League, Arsene Wenger's squad must now find a way to turn things around as they look to meet Chelsea and then Liverpool in the coming weeks. Sir Alex Ferguson on the other hand, sees his United side (and Wayne Rooney in particular) hitting fine form in the new year, as they always have. There is a whole lot of football to be played yet, but judging from Sunday, Wenger's boys have some growing up to do and Ferguson's men have begun to find their feet this season.
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