EPL

Ji Sung Park, the man for the big days, rose to the occasion yet again as his goal helped Manchester United beat Arsenal and leapfrog them to the top of the table in the Premiership.

Arsenal travelled to Old Trafford with skipper Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie on the bench but Arsene Wenger surprisingly handed young Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny a debut at the Theatre of Dreams. For United, Scholes failed to make the lineup and Ferguson opted for Anderson and Carrick in midfield along with Fletcher with Nani and Park playing wide and Rooney was the lone man up front.

As expected, the high tempo clash started with both teams controlling the midfield. Rooney got the first shot on target after 9 minutes which Szczesny held with ease and Nani fired a 35 yard freekick into the hands of the keeper. United continued to pressurize and almost paid dividends as Squillaci’s weak clearance fell at the feet of Nani, who fired a first time volley as the ball just whizzed past the post. So close and yet so far for United!

Just before the half hour mark, Nani swung a cross from the left and as Marioune Chamakh stooped to clear, the ball brushed past his head into his arm. But United’s shouts for a penalty were turned down. After a flurry of attacking moves, United finally had the lead in the 41st minute.

Rooney’s head down set Nani free on the right and as he crossed into the box, the ball took a deflection of Arsenal defender Gael Clichy. But this wasn’t enough as Park improvised to head over Szczesny and the ball looped into the back of the net.

Arsenal started off the second half in an aggressive manner with Rosicky firing his volley wide. Minutes later Samir Nasri, who had gone completely unnoticed in the first half forced a smart save from Van der Sar. The ball rebounded to Chamakh but Vidic stepped in and prevented what would have been an easy tap in for the striker.

Arsene Wenger called in Van Persie and Fabregas to mount the pressure on the home side. But in the 74th minute, Clichy handled inside the box and with the referee pointing to the spot, it all looked over for the Gunners. But Rooney stepped up and blazed his penalty over the bar. Arsenal were given a new lease of life!

But United were strong in defence and held onto the lead as United continued to remain unbeaten in the league. But most importantly Arsenal’s 5th defeat of the season meant the United moved to 34 points, 2 more than the Gunners and moved to the top of the table and this, with a game in hand.

Tags: Arsenal, English Premier League, EPL, Football, Ji Sung Park, Manchester United