The game finished in a 1-0 win that takes United two points clear at the top of the league, with a game in hand over all of their rivals to boot. They may wonder how they find themselves in such a position given that they have hardly hit full stride all year (Blackburn excepted). Watching the game, there were a few things that stood out from this bloggers perspective.
Firstly, Ji-Sung Park or Jason Park as he is more often called (by no-one other than my deluded friend who insists this is his name and admittedly I have adopted it myself) is one of football's good guys. He is clearly a player of certain limits, but at the same time he offers a number of qualities that put him arguably in the upper echelon of Premier League players. His work rate makes him a pain in the arse for opponents, and he has that Lampard knack of arriving in the box at the right time and in the right place - it is not coincidence if time and again a loose ball or deflection finds it's way to one player in particular.
The reflexive twist of his back and neck to meet the deflected ball from much improved Nani McPhee was superb and reminded me of Jurgen Klinsmann in his prime - one headed goal in France 98 in particular showed fighter pilot reactions and Park deserves considerable plaudits for his goal.
He is not and will never be a Ronaldo or Messi but every team needs it's workhorses and for me there are a lot worse players around than Jason Park.
Something else that warranted comment was the standard of football. For two teams more capable than almost every other in our country and therefore representative of the best that the Premier League has to offer, this was at times a frankly shocking display. Arsene Wenger has bemoaned the state of the pitch and claimed that it played a part in the sloppiness of the play, but it is no exaggeration to say that at times in this game there were spells of minutes in length in which neither team managed to string together more than 3 passes without losing the ball. To see players on both sides simply pass the ball out of play or direct to an opponent was quite staggering, a Sunday league team would expect to retain possession better than these two were. The contrast with the football on display by Barcelona week in week out - but more pertinently on a technical level by all teams in La Liga - was impossible to ignore. Is this really the level we are at?
One further observation and something that had me utterly dumbfounded at the time: how Darren Fletcher got away with that is beyond the comprehension of my tiny if trivia packed mind. He sprinted twenty yards, screaming profanities, and then barged into the referee Howard Webb, who must have thought he was somehow involved in his former life as a policeman being harassed by a Trainspotting skaghead. Surely to Jebus the FA will have to reprimand Fletcher as those actions were simply unacceptable and set a dangerous precedent for Sunday League refs to have to deal with if and when the snow ever melts. Players in my opinion should be booked the second they swear directly at a referee - to sprint after them, push them, and continue to act like they are withholding your fix even when pulled up about it afterwards - he does not have a leg to stand on and deserves to be sitting out for some time. Serves him right - with that much money and a job that demands physical strength and fitness he should not be looking so heroin-addled.
Arsenal can take some positives from the game in that they looked for the most part comfortable with United's threat - but they never presented a compelling enough case to make you believe they were going to worry United unduly. They still sit in a healthy position however and can go into 2011 with optimism. United meanwhile can - with a trip to Chelsea up next - build on this win and claim an unlikely title in what is turning out to be a year in which anyone could potentially win the league with a slightly decent run of form.
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League title aspirations are sadly out of the reach of Melbourne Heart this season. A terrible recent run of form including only one goal scored in the past six came to a depressing low on Saturday with a revenge win in the Melbourne derby for cross city rivals Victory. The Heart now find themselves well off the play-off pace and looking over their shoulders at the bottom three rather than at those above them. Difficult times for the club and they need a win soon - no-one expects miracles in this first season but at the same time they cannot allow this miserable run of form to ruin the excellent start that was made. Mind you, when your leading scorer and best player is Gerald Sibon, you can't expect too much.
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