Saturday, November 3, 2007

Race 4 da lead.............but Man-Ghuu to be blown up by Gunners at Emirates.........cmon Wenger.............kick Alex Fergussons ass

LONDON (AP) -- Arsenal is the surprise pacesetter in the Premier League title race and the Gunners' young team gets its biggest test so far on Saturday when it hosts defending champion Manchester United.

While the leading pair's first meeting this season comes too early to decide the destination of the title, it could provide a clear indication of whether the Gunners' inexperienced squad is equipped to challenge.

The signs are good after last weekend's 1-1 draw at Liverpool stretched Arsenal's unbeaten start to the league to 10 matches, but United is in imperious form having won eight straight Premier League games.

The champions have hit four goals in each of their past four matches -- the first time they have done so in 100 years -- and look set for a strong defense of their title.

"Everything is coming together, as I thought it would, and in good time to take on Arsenal in what could be a key match," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "It's still an open race but Arsenal have had a great start and they're the ones we are chasing at the moment.

"The main thing is I know we will chase them with great fervor and determination."

Arsenal has played one game fewer than United but leads because it has scored more goals. Chelsea is five points back in fourth place ahead of its match at Wigan on Saturday, while third-place Manchester City hosts Sunderland on Monday.

Arsenal was expected to struggle after the offseason sale of Thierry Henry and the gradual release of experienced players such as Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Piresand Fredrik Ljungberg.

Instead, the likes of midfielder Cesc Fabregas, Aleksandr Hleb, Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott have gone unbeaten in all competitions since April and played what some commentators believe to be the best soccer since the inception of the Premier League in 1992.

That's some statement considering how well Arsenal has played in 11 years under manager Arsene Wenger and the admiration that Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez are getting for their partnership at United.

"Challenging for a title is a new experience for a lot of their players, but some of them have been there before and the manager has, and that is a big help," Ferguson said. "People said the same about us last year, but we led the league for three-quarters of the season, so I don't think it's a handicap."

United, though, could draw upon some crucial experience for the game at Emirates Stadium, where it lost 2-1 last season. Captain Gary Neville could play his first game of the season after getting over an ankle injury and defender Patrice Evra, who has recovered from a calf problem.

United had a week off because of its early exit from the League Cup, but Wenger fielded several reserves in Arsenal's 3-0 cup win at Sheffield United, so the Gunners are likely to be equally fresh.

Fabregas has hit 10 goals this season -- six more than his tally in 54 matches last year -- and will be among the players to return to the team after sitting out the midweek win.

Also Saturday, Tottenham plays its first Premier League game under Juande Ramos when it travels to Middlesbrough.

Spurs won Ramos' debut on Wednesday, 2-0 over Blackpool in the League Cup, but the defense struggled so much against the lowly League Championship side that Ramos took off center half Younes Kaboul after less than an hour even though he did not have another defender to replace him.

"The most important thing here was the victory," Ramos said. "But against a side like Blackpool, from a lower division, we shouldn't be giving away chances like that given the difference between the two sides."

Tottenham has already beaten Middlesbrough 2-0 in the League Cup this season and is now just a place behind its opponent in the standings after Boro slipped to 17th with four straight Premier League defeats.

Also Saturday, Liverpool is at Blackburn, Portsmouth is at Newcastle, Birmingham is at Everton, Derby is at Aston Villa, and Reading is at Fulham.

West Ham hosts Bolton on Sunday.


1 comment:

Nikhil said...

Hey! Do you write these articles yourself or do you take it from somewhere.
And put something unique man, blogs aren't for news you get in the paper anyway.