Match Report – Manchester United 2-0 Arsenal Competition: FA Cup, Quarter-Final Kick-Off & Date: 5:15pm, Saturday 12th March Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester (Home) Attendance: 74,693 Manchester United brushed Arsenal aside at Old Trafford, with goals from Fabio Da Silva and Wayne Rooney seeing The Red Devils safely through to the Semi-Finals of The FA Cup. In an exciting and evenly-balanced game, United came out on top by taking the chances that fell to them, opposed to The Gunner’s wasteful display. Edwin Van Der Sar kept the visitors at bay, as the home side ran Arsenal’s defence ragged… Sir Alex Ferguson played 7 defenders to the amazement of all involved, but on closer examination his game plan was no joke. Edwin Van Der Sar started his first FA Cup game in 2 years, with Chris Smalling and Nemanja Vidic as centre-halves. Wes Brown and Patrice Evra started either side of the main defence, as John O’Shea was played as a defensive midfielder. Brothers Rafael and Fabio acted as flankers, with Darron Gibson in the centre of the park. Wayne Rooney started his 27th game for United, looking to add to his recent impressive goalscoring tally. An in-form Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez partnered Wazza, as Dimitar Berbatov was demoted to the bench. Substitute Ryan Giggs’ 20 years at The Theatre Of Dreams was remembered with a new banner, as Antonio Valencia returned to the squad after a serious ankle injury kept him out of the team for nearly 6 months. Arsenal started the game the better of the two sides, with Andrey Arshavin and Samir Nasri testing Van Der Sar early on. The Reds’ were losing possesion of the ball far too often, knocking long balls up-field to no avail. Slowly, United got back into the game with the help of the Old Trafford faithful. Rafael and Fabio combined to an almost clinical effect in the sparring rounds, but Rafa failed to keep his header below the crossbar. Following a long spell of the ball, The Gunners conceded to United in the home side’s half. The Red Devils broke, with Fabio Da Silva making a dash forward, then finding Rafael Da Silva – who passed back to his twin brother. Fabio left the ball for Rooney, whose floated ball into the box was headed goal-wards by Chicharito. Manuel Almunia saved the Mexican’s effort, but failed to keep the ball – struck into the roof of the net by the onrushing Fabio. Lightning. Fabio’s 28th minute goal put United firmly in control of the tie, but that didn’t stop the work Arsenal had been doing up-front. Robin Van Persie’s low drive across the goal was pushed away by a stretching Van Der Sar, before a smart move from Samir Nasri nearly caught The Reds napping – but the great ‘VDS’ was there again. Going into half time, Arsene Wenger’s side remain in possesion, but little did they do to threaten United’s lead. Before the whistle for the second half, Antonio Valencia made a much-anticipated return to action as he replaced goalscorer Fabio on the right wing. His first few touches were of such quality, you would never know he had spent over 5 months in recuperation following a fracture and dislocation to his left-leg in September. But it wasn’t long before United added a second goal. Valencia’s stirring run down the right-hand side left Arsenal in their tracks. The Ecuadorian winger passed to Rafael, who crossed into the box. Chicharito made some contact with the ball, before Rooney arrived to nail the ball into the far corner with his head, and a little help from the woodwork… Despite United’s increasing advantage in the game, The Gunners did not give up. Van Der Sar again came to The Red’s rescue, as he held Nasri’s venomous volley following a poor clearance from Wes Brown. Arsenal substitute Marouane Chamakh also tested the Dutchman, before Van Persie came close with a curling effort. Ryan Giggs replaced Rafael on the left wing, and in a matter of minutes the legendary Welshman nearly got himself on the scoresheet from Chris Smalling’s knock-back, but the ball was taken off his feet by Jack Wilshere. Van Der Sar made another couple of saves, before Manuel Almunia managed to keep out Chicharito’s certain goal. Arsenal defender Johan Djourou then suffered a dislocated shoulder, which resulted in a 5-minute stoppage of play. As the game resumed, 8 minutes were added on by the officials. Enough time for Paul Scholes – entering the fray in place of Patrice Evra – to get booked, and make some inch-perfect passes as well. The game ended with United cruising to victory over a jaded Arsenal side, beaten by the same margin of victory by Barcelona in the Nou Camp midweek. Sir Alex looks for United’s 12th FA Cup, as the Semi-Finals loom – ending The Red’s run of 2 losses on the trot. As for Arsenal, they are out of 3 competitions in the space of 2 weeks and certainly don’t look like Premier League title challengers in the eyes of all at Manchester United ! United Team: Edwin Van Der Sar, Patrice Evra (Paul Scholes ’81), Wes Brown, Chris Smalling, Nemanja Vidic, Fabio Da Silva (Luis Valencia ’46), Rafael Da Silva (Ryan Giggs ’64), John O’Shea, Darron Gibson, Wayne Rooney, Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez. Goals: Fabio ’28, Rooney ’49 Bookings: Scholes ’90 Follow United Latest On Twitter ! CommentsMalkster Sat, 12 Mar 2011 7:20:46 pm Great result but let’s face it if it wasn’t for vds we would have lost this game by 4 or 5 , but hopefully now with Valencia back to ease not having nani we can go on to at least win the league & hopefully fergie can talk vds out of retiring , also smalling looks like a great buy along side vidic come on utd td1 Sat, 12 Mar 2011 7:21:31 pm Good performance good to see Valencia back and twins did well Mafia247 Sat, 12 Mar 2011 7:28:50 pm I agree vds played brilliant Chris m Sat, 12 Mar 2011 7:31:45 pm Vds not to retire yet we have to beg him brazil bros are jst superb players always as lav thers wat we bin missin gr8 player first game bak and looks gr8 farhan Sat, 12 Mar 2011 7:32:04 pm vds was awesome.. n my goodness, who needs ferdinand when u have smalling pairing so so well along vidic?? those 2 cb are flawless. great pairing. one big negativity though….gibson! hes bullshit! if not for rooney who keep going back to midfield RedScot Sat, 12 Mar 2011 7:34:31 pm Our best performance as a team of the whole season.It was brilliant, every player did their job, I thought Chris smalling and Nemanja Vidic were just almost inpenetrable.Edwin van der Sar, please stay he is awesome.Although he was asked at the end of the match in an interview would he reconsider, an emphatic NO!However credit where credit is due also Rooney, was top drawer today, which augurs well for the final push. borba Sat, 12 Mar 2011 7:59:07 pm what a gamble in midfield and it work that’s what makes sir alex Sir Alex the great. Malik Sat, 12 Mar 2011 8:09:36 pm Finally we saw da pace in midfield i hope nani n park recover soon n get in midfield as soon as possible………….. Artur Sat, 12 Mar 2011 8:11:07 pm Well, good performance for united, i was kinda surprised when i saw the lineup, but we did what we had to do, im happy ! Sean 123 Mufc Sat, 12 Mar 2011 8:22:48 pm agree with you Red Scot that was are best game this season . the reason i think why we played so well in the second half was valencia going that wing and wiping balls in was good to see . if you noticed Nani gets fed up if things go wrong were valencia gets on with . but cant wait to have Nani and Valencia back on both wings Darren Sat, 12 Mar 2011 8:24:40 pm I’ve been proved wrong. RedScot Sat, 12 Mar 2011 8:28:10 pm @ Sean 123 Mufc, agreed mate it was an overall great team performance.Yeah mate Antonio’s delivery is awesome and gets the defender on the back foot. Malkster Sat, 12 Mar 2011 8:33:01 pm @redscot some twat keeps using my name cause he thinks he’s funny you will see my real post at top of page Sean 123 Mufc Sat, 12 Mar 2011 8:33:02 pm ya and JOHAN Djourou IS OUT FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON . ARSENAL Are bad at the back as it is that only means they will get worse . i think Chelsea are the one to watch but if we keep winging no way in for them RedScot Sat, 12 Mar 2011 8:37:10 pm @Malkster, yes i was grasping that bye following and reading the blog mate. Sean 123 Mufc Sat, 12 Mar 2011 8:41:12 pm when i send an E-mail it say not published and a bracket at the end so there not allowed see your E-mail are they . i hope they do know Patch Sat, 12 Mar 2011 8:45:25 pm Who Evers commenting under malksters name iis well funny. Haha! B4 the game I was worried due to the line up but we came out on top so no complaints. United till I die manutdDNA Sat, 12 Mar 2011 9:19:00 pm nice result, though arsenal dominated the possescion most of the time they never did anything with it,good job vds, when will man utd ever find a GK as good as this guy? we definately need to improve in the mid against marseille. hope we go for the treble Houphanne Sat, 12 Mar 2011 9:32:19 pm Great performance by the team! Gibson silenced his critics with a solid performance! Valencia looks like a new signing!! And van der sar? My word what a goalkeeper!! Drkatkot Sat, 12 Mar 2011 9:46:39 pm We wen but we did not play well Sat, 12 Mar 2011 10:30:03 pm Identity theft sorted-out for now I believe. That IP Address will be banned if any more fake comments appear. Mark W. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 11:27:56 pm Really good performance today! Edwin was sensational and Fergie putting Rafael and Fabio on the wings was a brilliant and very creative move. Fabio’s become quite the little finisher! Vic Low Sat, 12 Mar 2011 11:36:43 pm VDS is awesome, the whole team played well not forgetting Vidic n Smalling welcome back Valencia 🙂 Imran Kuna Sun, 13 Mar 2011 12:31:47 am Vds was indeed e difference between e both teams but he did wat he needed to do. Rooney n fabio made it look easy 4 Man Utd. At e end of e day, I salute to fergie… Sir, U did us Fans wat we treasure n love most abt Man Utd. A Class above the rest!!! Arsenal, u can stop dreaming of beating us for e title.. We are going march on n break liverpool’s record n guess what… There’s no other team capable of stopping us going on and on.. Red Devils gonna rule EPL for many seasons to come!!! Mansoor Sun, 13 Mar 2011 12:46:05 am Great result, lets beat city at Wembley. And then win the double. Iss Sun, 13 Mar 2011 12:46:56 am Vds vidic Rooney etc are all united players. They are da best for today so we need to stop pointing finger or singling out. I believe today as a team we were flawless. Communication was great. I’m indeed happy that we whop them. This united at their best with such a patched up team. Sean 123 Mufc Sun, 13 Mar 2011 12:52:42 am i have seeing a heading on the News of the world Manchester united ready to sell Rooney after another rift ; well if this true what are fergie and Wayne playing at things have gotten back to were they were with the fans and now it happens all over again i am sick of taught if is true lets hope a some word from the club today and deny it Arthur Sun, 13 Mar 2011 1:32:35 am I though we would loose…thank god I was wrong Malay love Sun, 13 Mar 2011 3:05:03 am I think not having nani in that match really helped united. It gave united a good chance to show the twins attacking capability, and great for boosting their confidence. Also meant Valencia had a good run to get back into the swing of things. I find that although nani has been essential throughout this season, because of injuries, he sometimes tries to do too much (taking it past people) rather than making good passes like fabio in the play up to his goal. Also I doubt you would have seen nani show the energy the twins did, especially as he would have not been in the box like they were (e.g. Danios goal he ran into the box and followed up Hernandez header well) Malay love Sun, 13 Mar 2011 3:06:25 am Sorry, *fabios goal Karthik Sun, 13 Mar 2011 4:29:40 am In Fabio we have a Gareth Bale! But he has miles 2 go ! But he surely has that pace n skill ! Raafay Sun, 13 Mar 2011 6:08:36 am Gr8 prefomance and shocles wont be avalaible For 2 league matches i hope that we will win the FA cup GGMU Sun, 13 Mar 2011 6:21:19 am Shocked by the lineup but we really played well as a team. GGMU Sun, 13 Mar 2011 6:30:13 am and @ Karthik , Fabio is no where near Bale yet. I think the twins need to work on their body balance. Bale always had the skills but he’s a much better player since he bulk up his body. The twins have great skills and great winning attitude. They’ll be complete with better body balance. Quiggs Sun, 13 Mar 2011 9:53:52 am Don’t agree with the comments on gibbo ok he didn’t have a great game but imho he’s a far better player than carrick at least gibbo battles when loses the ball and can pass and move forward. Carrick is overrated Christay88 Sun, 13 Mar 2011 1:52:54 pm Thort gibson was a different player than in recent weeks and a much needed improvement on the awfull carrick. Gibson looked to move the ball forward and out wide to the da silva bros. I dnt like the guy as a man u player but he looked more like a man utd midfielder yesterday. Also glad valencia is back and seems as fit as ever excellent work by medical staff. United till I die Tue, 15 Mar 2011 1:26:54 am I’d settle 4 a 5er and a packet of crisps 4 carrick in the summer Valencia will be a huge part in the rest of the season and u never no what the da silvas new positions might be Leave a Reply |  
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