‘So Arsenal drew and now need 18 points at most from their
eight remaining fixtures in the Premiership to recover the
championship. That is highly likely but their cavalcade has
paused if not ended. Their run of nine consecutive league
wins could not be extended and, worse, they again revealed
the lenient streak that refuses to extinguish hope in the
opposition.
‘United were energetic and determined, yet their build-up
four minutes from the end could have been thwarted. Paul
Scholes found the substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the
right. Ruud van Nistelrooy, unmarked, was unable to reach
the low cross; no matter, Saha was just as unattended to
finish at the back post.
‘This was about as pleasing an outcome as United could
reasonably have expected prior to the next encounter with
Arsenal: the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday. The openings
they devised were never as clean as those enjoyed by
Wenger's team but they too could conceivably have extracted
a win.
‘With United 1-0 down, Ryan Giggs should probably have had a
penalty after 54 minutes when Sol Campbell, stumbling in
pursuit, clipped him on the edge of the area. Then, in
stoppage-time, Van Nistelrooy headed a Giggs cross straight
to the hands of Jens Lehmann.
‘United remain 12 points adrift and already knew their
Premiership bid was over but a show of pride is a starting
point for recovery. The willpower could be felt as early as
the 13th minute when Eric Djemba-Djemba struck a volley
which Lehmann palmed behind.
‘The visitors never matched Arsenal's slickness but it was
not unreasonable for them to have finished on level terms.
Although there was no genuine counterpart to the mayhem when
these sides met acrimoniously in September, sufficient
passion was generated to ignite a mini-melee after Patrick
Vieira's uninhibited challenge on Van Nistelrooy in the 33rd
minute. Players squared up and Sir Alex Ferguson and Wenger
yelled at each other.’
Telegraph:
‘Despite their funereal black garb, Manchester United showed
signs of life at Highbury yesterday, deservedly taking a
point when their late pressure brought Louis Saha's
equaliser of a sensational Thierry Henry strike. "We
reminded everyone we're not dead," Sir Alex Ferguson said.
‘Arsenal's edge brought reward four minutes after the break.
The ball was moved quickly between Robert Pires, Henry, Jose
Antonio Reyes and then Henry, who sent it spitting and
swerving past Roy Carroll. "I hit the ball with the top of
my foot and on the side," said Henry, explaining why it
deviated like a paper-dart in a hurricane. "You can try that
1,000 times in training and it goes over the bar."
‘Both managers were astonished by a strike that took Henry
level with Ian Wright on a club record 104 Premiership
goals. "It was a missile," Wenger said. Ferguson agreed,
saying: "It moved a few times. That's the problem with the
modern ball but it was a great hit."
‘The temperature was on the move, upwards. This being an
Arsenal-United meeting, controversy was in the air. Played
in good spirit, with only sporadic diving from Gary Neville,
Henry and Reyes staining the game's flow, the mercury rose
in the 54th minute. Sol Campbell, caught off balance by Ryan
Giggs, stumbled and brought the Welsh flier to earth with
right hand and right foot. Fouled outside the box, Giggs's
momentum took him into the area where he appealed vainfully
for a penalty. "I got my ankle clipped otherwise I wouldn't
have gone down," said Giggs, one of the Premiership's more
honest professionals.
‘At the very least, Graham Poll should have awarded a free-
kick to United on the edge of the area but instead waved
play on. Ferguson disappeared into orbit, accusing Poll of
going soft on Arsenal because he had angered them on his
last visit here, way back in December 2001 when Newcastle
United were in town. Henry needed to be pulled off Poll then
after awarding Newcastle a penalty following a clean tackle
by Campbell on Laurent Robert.
‘United will travel to the Midlands hopefully. "There's not
a lot wrong with us," Ferguson stressed. Giggs concurred,
concluding: "People write us off but we always come back
stronger." Arsenal are still substantially ahead.'
Times:
‘For the first 86 minutes of a truly pulsating encounter, it
seemed that Arsenal, courtesy of another wonderful goal by
Thierry Henry, were about to cement their position as the
new kings of English football, but United, as Ferguson said
afterwards, “are not dead yet”. Although they have endured a
disastrous campaign, one that Ferguson now concedes will see
them surrender their Premiership crown, United demonstrated
yesterday that they are not yet ready to yield to Arsenal’s
superiority in the longer term.
‘Lesser teams would not have been able to withstand the
level of pressure to which they were subjected by Arsenal,
who wanted to break the record — held jointly by the Leeds
United side of 1973-74 and the Liverpool side of 1987-88 —
in the most glorious style. United, though, did not buckle,
even after the latest addition to Henry’s portfolio for goal
of the season, and finally claimed their reward when Saha, a
substitute, tapped in from close range.
‘So unrelenting was the tempo that there was little time for
any of the “nonsense”, which Ferguson said had shamed the
game when the clubs last met in the so-called “Battle of Old
Trafford” in September. Inevitably, there were a few
flashpoints — most notably when Wenger and Ferguson were
drawn into a heated exchange after 32 minutes when Ruud van
Nistelrooy was left limping by an aggressive, if fair,
tackle by Patrick Vieira — but, overall, the game was played
in exactly the right spirit, with the exception of dives
with which Gary Neville and Henry attempted to win
penalties.
‘The first half was breathless. With Vieira and Edu
dominating midfield, much of the game was played in United
territory, but, as irresistible as he was at times, Henry
encountered stiff resistance from the defence, particularly
Wes Brown, who enjoyed his best display of the season. The
best opportunities, both of them set up by Henry, fell to
Fredrik Ljungberg but were wasted, with Roy Carroll — again
preferred to Tim Howard in the United goal — doing well to
repel the second. United’s best effort came from Eric Djemba
Djemba, whose 25-yard shot was well saved by Jens Lehmann.
‘As a spectacle, the game was good enough not to “need” a
goal, but, when it came, five minutes into the second half,
it was worth waiting for. Henry, receiving possession from
José Antonio Reyes, let fly from 30 yards with his right
foot and the ball swerved away from Carroll and into the
roof of the net. “It was always going to take a special goal
for them to get in front,” Ferguson said. “At first, I
wondered whether Roy Carroll should have saved it, but these
modern balls swerve so much.”
‘United were denied what looked a clear penalty three
minutes later, when Ryan Giggs was pulled down by Sol
Campbell, but they rarely threatened again until the closing
stages, by which time Arsenal were defending too deep. The
visiting team, themselves reinvigorated by the introduction
of Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, accepted the invitation to
attack and claimed their reward when Solskjaer’s cross,
missed by a subdued Van Nistelrooy at the near post, was
converted by Saha at the far post.
‘Even then there was time for Henry to miss two chances and
for Van Nistelrooy to head into the arms of Lehmann.
Ultimately, it was honours even. Roll on Saturday.’
Indie:
‘Arsenal's champagne remains on ice, Manchester United's
obituary on file. A year ago, when United drew here, Sir
Alex Ferguson walked on to the pitch to salute the
travelling support, his clenched fist sending a triumphalist
message which proved prescient as Arsenal's title hopes
ebbed away.
‘This year he settled for a handshake with Arsène Wenger
before disappearing down the tunnel. He knows Arsenal remain
champions-elect, the 12-point lead they hold over United
will not be bridged in eight matches. Nor are Chelsea, seven
points adrift, likely to catch them.
‘Yet it was United who left Highbury the happier. The
psychological edge Arsenal's exuberant season had
established over them had been broken. When Thierry Henry
scored another spectacular goal after 49 minutes it seemed
this hold would be cemented but United refused to
acknowledge their majesty. They pushed the leaders back and,
with four minutes remaining, Louis Saha levelled.
‘The goal may not change the destination of the Premiership
pennant but it will affect the respective teams' approach to
Saturday's FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park. It could thus
enable United to view this season's loss of the title as a
blip rather than indicative of a change in the balance of
power.
‘Tellingly United's resurgence came after Ferguson finally
deployed his best available XI. With 19 minutes left Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer, so badly missed this season, came on. He
gave the team width on the right. Louis Saha joined the
attack, enabling Ryan Giggs, who had moved forward, to
switch to the left as Scholes, who started up front then
swapped with Giggs, went into central midfield. It was a
reversion to United's classic 4-4-2 formation with width and
twin strikers. They immediately looked much happier.
‘It would have been unjust if either team had won. The last
four meetings between the teams have ended in stalemate
which suggests it might be wise for both to practice
penalties ahead of Saturday. It also suggests Arsenal are
not yet as superior as the League table indicates.’