Old Trafford has not been a terribly happy hunting ground for us lately, with no win in the 4 years since we won the league up there. Mind you, that was a good enough day in itself, and getting into the away end still sends a mini shiver down my spine when I remember what happened on 8th May 2002.Arsenal really couldn't have been less fancied for this game without a win in the league all season (so far), and with United seemingly flying. The game started though, and within minutes, it looked to be an encouraging display. The only question was, would it last, or fizzle out after 10 minutes. The penalty miss around 10 minutes in would have been the time to kill Arsenal's spirit, but thank god it seemed to make us even more determined.
Although the stats suggest a relatively even game, and Jens Lehmann was needed to make a couple of big saves, Arsenal really did deserve to win the game. United were quiet, and the majority of the decent chances, threatening attacks, and good passing came from Arsenal. Just when I thought that we would create lots of chances and end up missing ALL of them, we got the finish right for once, towards the end. Too late for a United comeback - the perfect time to score in a game like this. The ball from Fabregas was quality, as was his passing throughout - he is a real big game player at 19 years old.
The atmosphere in the away end today was fantastic, helped by the fact that the rest of the stadium was extremely quiet. They seemed even quieter than the typical Arsenal home crowd, which is saying something. Seeing them all stream out of the stands when we had scored was probably the most effort they had put into anything all day. The fact that we exerted pressure, dominated the game, slowly turned the screw, and then won the game - all through this process, we were busy being loud, taking the piss out of the Mancs. All this made for a very enjoyable afternoon all round - a very good laugh.Radio Five Live asked Arsene Wenger after the game about "homophobic songs directed at former players", and asked him to acknowledge hearing them, and to condemn them. Arsene refused to do either - well played. Funny how the media seems to be very interested in this issue now - conveniently ignoring the fact that for five years, Sol Campbell and Freddie Ljungberg have been the target of particularly vile homophobic abuse from Spurs fans - and no Spurs manager has EVER been questioned on the subject.
Of course, this was not even the only instance of bad taste singing THAT GAME, as the Manchester United fans again made themselves heard in singing "Sit Down You Paedophile" at Arsene Wenger. Again, no questioning from the media, and general ignorance of the fact that this even happens. Funny, when you mention Munich, United fans go ballistic, but the majority (and it is a huge number of them) sing songs about paedophilia. Also today, their charming song which copies Liverpool's "we won it five times chant", but United add "without killing anybody, we won it two times".
Truly the most disgusting set of fans in the land (possibly apart from Spurs and Chelsea, of course), which makes sticking it right up them all the sweeter. Great day, great game, great atmosphere - both the team and travelling Gooners did the job.
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