The advantage United hold in the title race…
Manchester United could have been beaten by Bolton but managed to snatch a late winner, whilst Arsenal, but for the mega-flop in their goal, should have closed the gap on Manchester United. After both games, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson told us their teams had the ‘character to win the title.’ The difference being, Manchester United are winning games whilst Arsenal have had a month to forget.
Arsenal fans must see the problem. Despite Arsenal dropping points, Wenger tells us how much character his side has for being able to come back from two goals down against West Brom. Are Arsenal fans really buying this? Do Arsenal only have character when they are coming back from defeats or goals down? Shouldn’t Wenger be addressing the real problem of why his team keep finding themselves in these positions in the first place? Arsenal are a great team and in the great majority of cases will be able to claw themselves back into a matchs against lesser sides. However, when they struggledd against Barcelona and Manchester United, they looked stumped, bewildered and incapable of working towards the right result. Character has to mean something. It can’t be a buzz word for getting yourselves out of trouble against a side who are relegation material.
In Manchester, Sir Alex Ferguson has increased the pressure on Arsenal by claiming his side’s belief and character is unrivalled in the Premier League.
‘No other club in the country has got that. We are fantastic at getting something out of a dead situation.’
Who could really argue that that isn’t the case. Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign at Manchester United has seen the Red Devils come back from the dead any number of times. From Steve Bruce’s winner against Sheffield Wednesday to Eric Cantona’s FA Cup winner against Liverpool and of course Barcelona 1999. This Manchester United side is not the best, but they have the winning spirit of their manager motivating them, pushing them onto bigger things.
Arsenal may possess greater quality, but is their mentality right? Arsene Wenger massages the Arsenal players ego’s. He tells them how great they are, but when they look in their personal trophy cabinets – there is nothing. Manchester United have the winning mentality because they have medals to back up their mentality. Beyond that they have the most successful British manager and on the pitch they have both Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. They have been there and done it as the pundits say.
With mentality weighing heavily on the outcome of the Premier League this season, it seems that it’s Manchester United who will have the edge.
Written by Tom Costello of This Is Futbol