Author Topic: United 2 Arsenal 0  (Read 772 times)

celeste

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United 2 Arsenal 0
« on: 21:17:49, 12/03/11 »
12 March 2011, 19:44United dump sorry Gunners out Manchester United heaped more misery on Arsenal by turfing the Gunners out of the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory at Old Trafford.
Although he named a team containing seven defenders, Sir Alex Ferguson's gamble was rewarded with goals either side of the interval from Fabio and Wayne Rooney.
Arsenal finished the game with 10 men after Johan Djourou was carried off on a stretcher and the final whistle left Arsene Wenger's men with only the Premier League to play for after being in the hunt for a quadruple less than a fortnight ago.
Ferguson sprang a major FA Cup surprise by naming seven defenders in Manchester United's starting line-up. Brazilian twins Rafael and Fabio, plus John O'Shea were all expected to be pushed into midfield alongside Darron Gibson whilst Antonio Valencia was handed a place on the bench after being out since September with a broken ankle.
Bidding to resurrect their own season, Arsenal's line-up was stronger, with Andrey Arshavin included instead of injured skipper Cesc Fabregas, and Robin van Persie the only striker following his red card in Tuesday's Champions League defeat to Barcelona.
Van Persie tested Edwin van der Sar with a curling effort from 25 yards, then Nemanja Vidic took the sting out of a long-range effort from Abou Diaby before United advanced upfield and took a shock lead.
Fabio started the move with a surging run that took him deep into Arsenal territory before he found Rafael. The return pass was played back to Rooney, whose far-post cross was met perfectly by Javier Hernandez.
Manuel Almunia was unable to do any better than palm the Mexican's header away, the ball rolling invitingly for Fabio, who slid in to lift the ball into the roof of the net.
It was Arsenal who pressed early after the break, with Van der Sar forced into an excellent double-save. Van der Sar's heroics were not in vain either as United immediately sped to the other end and doubled their lead.
In sticking out a leg to stop Rafael's cross, Djourou could only loop the ball high into the air. Rooney escaped Sagna's attentions and although his header lacked power, the direction was perfect, far enough away from Almunia but not too far to prevent him finding the corner from an acute angle
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