Rashford Shoots Down The Gunners.

Manchester United 3 Arsenal 2

Louis van Gaal literally fell over backwards to make his point during a match that Marcus Rashford proved his worth with yet another double to follow his brace on Thursday. That's four goals in two games for the young man which made sure his team ended the week on a high.

The last seven days have seen United progress in two cup competitions and reignite their attempt to gain an automatic Champions League place in the Premier League.

Lately, it had looked increasingly difficult for United to grab a coveted top four position. However, they have a new found belief and nothing is better than beating the Gooners and their manager Arsene Wenger along with damaging their hopes of winning the league.

In the past, it was usually a title decider between these two giants of the league but how those days have changed. The fact that Leicester City is the top team says a lot about how the pendulum is swinging as the normal top four clubs are slowly losing their stranglehold on the league.

Would van Gaal keep faith in the youngsters that have performed at the top of their game for him and the club? Especially local lad Marcus Rashford whose debut double against Midtjylland catapulted him onto the football world stage.

The answer was yes, as was reflected in the squad: De Gea, Varela, Carrick, Blind, Rojo, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Mata, Lingard, Memphis and Rashford started the match and the bench was brimming with young talent.

De Gea and Rojo returned to the starting lineup in place of Romero and Riley. Rashford was handed his first Premier League start and on the bench, there was another academy youngster getting his first taste of first team football the versatile 18-year-old Dutch player Timothy Fosu-Mensah who can play in midfield or defence sat alongside James Weir, McNair, Pereira and Januzaj.

Arsenal got the game underway with United old boy Welbeck in the side and the last time he played at Old Trafford it was his winner that knocked United out of last years FA Cup.

The first chance fell to the visitors as Monreal beat the off side to face De Gea who was alert enough to block the shot. Let off for United who didn't seem comfortable with Carrick at the back in the opening exchanges.

Varela was cautioned early doors as he struggled to contain the lively Sanchez and wrestled the Chilean to the ground more in keeping with the Six Nations rugby.

Rashford showed his natural power and agility by weaving his way past two defenders and was tripped right on the edge of the penalty area. Memphis struck the resulting free-kick well enough to make Cech save on his line. Brilliant play by Rashford in the build up proving he has the confidence and temperament for the big occasion.

Carrick picked up United's second yellow of the match for a late challenge on Welbeck, which was taken by Ozil and had the crowd gasping as De Gea flapped the ball away from danger after a Sanchez flicked header, thankfully  the linesman had raised his flag for offside.

Then just before the half hour, the Theatre of Dreams exploded into life as Marcus Rashford took over the match for the next couple of minutes as he announced his presence in the Premier League with a brace that sent the home fans and the manager into pure ecstasy.

The first came courtesy of a missed clearance by Arsenal following an early cross whipped in from the right by Varela and there was Rashford to calmly place the ball into the net to grab his debut goal.

The second followed good work from Lingard, who crossed the ball again from the right, which Rashford met with a firm header to plant the ball past Cech. A fairytale start for the youngster to make it four goals in two debut games.

Welbeck continued to haunt United by pulling a goal back for Arsenal just before the break with a sneaky header past De Gea.

Half time and United led 2-1 in a half that was illuminated by Rashford's finishing to make him the youngest player to score two goals for United in a Premier League match.

The only blight on the half was how easy it was for Welbeck to get between defenders to keep his side in the game. Carrick was having an off day at the centre of defence alongside Blind and Varela was being run ragged by Sanchez.

The home side got the second half underway attacking their favoured Stretford End. There was a worry for the home side straight away as goal hero Rashford was caught with a boot to his nether region and needed some treatment. When he saw Januzaj warming up, he soon returned to the pitch.

United struggled a little to get into the game in the opening minutes of the half as the visitors tried to take the game to them. It nearly paid off as a mix up between Blind and Carrick opened up a gap through the middle of the defence and if it wasn't for the covering pace of Rojo it could have ended in the equaliser.

After ten minutes Rojo picked up a knock in a challenge with Welbeck and had to be replaced by yet another player making his debut Fosu-Mensah.

Lingard earned United a free kick on the right and the ball was floated over to the far post where Schneiderlin had so much time to ready himself for a shot but he over elaborated and his effort was blocked.

The Red Devils eventually came alive again with some attacking play that deserved more than the end results produced with Memphis, Mata and Rashford involved in the majority of the attacks.

On 65 minutes Rashford turned provider as he played a delightful pass into the path of Herrera, who made no mistake in blasting his team into the lead, via a slight deflection, which sent the home fans into raptures of delight. The goal followed a break out of defence by Mata who fed the ball to Rashford and the vision the young man showed to play in Herrera was proof that here is a player with immense skill.

Arsenal kept plugging away and pulled another goal back after De Gea saved brilliantly from point blank range from Welbeck but Ozil was there to knock in the rebound.

There was a scuffle in the midfield after Herrera and Ramsey clashed and both reacted angrily towards each other. They were both cautioned for the spat.

The players were really getting stuck into the challenges and referee Pawson had a hard time keeping control of them. Van Gaal was unhappy and made his way to the touchline and demonstrated how he thought the Arsenal players were diving by literally falling to the ground backwards for the benefit of the fourth official. Comical, but great to see him off the bench remonstrating much to the delight of the crowd.

Local hero Rashford was denied the chance of a hat-trick as he was replaced by Januzaj for the last ten minutes of the match. The standing ovation the goalscorer received was probably the loudest heard inside the famous stadium for many a season.

Arsenal still tried to get the game back on level terms but each time they played the ball into the area De Gea was there to tidy up. It was all frantic stuff as United frustrated the away side with keep-ball by the corner flag with Mata and Memphis combining well together.

Five minutes of injury time were added to the tension as the two old rivals fought for every ball and neither team wanted to give an inch. Pulsating stuff from both sides.

James Weir became the latest starlet to make his debut when he entered the fray for the last few minutes in place of goalscorer Herrera.

United held on to claim all the three points and dent Arsenal's title challenge and at the same time make up ground on Man City mostly thanks to man of the match Marcus Rashford, who once again proved that the young guns at United are worthy of a place in the first team.

You wonder how the season could have been if the team had played with this amount of enthusiasm from the start. The experienced players have to hold their hands up and admit that the youngsters are showing them how it's done in no uncertain terms.

The games are now coming thick and fast as the season enters its final bend so the return of injured players is going to be critical in how United's campaign ends. So as not to end the season empty handed again, United will need the mixture of experience and the energy of the younger players to carry them through to the finish line.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

United's Dismal Defeat at the Emirates.

Arsenal 3 Manchester United 0

The Philosopher took on the Professor at the Emirates Stadium as Louis van Gaal and his side looked to get back to the top of the league in the capital while hoping to pile more pressure on Arsene Wenger.

After kick-starting their Champions League group campaign off with a victory over Wolfsburg this week United travelled to London full of confidence add to that the Gunners poor start to the season and hopes were high that the Red Devils would return to Manchester with all three points.

The biggest dilemma for van Gaal was who should fill the left back position in the absence of Luke Shaw. In the last two matches right back Darmian has played admirably on the left, but Valencia on the right has been a problem as was seen last Wednesday when he played the Wolfsburg attackers onside for their opening goal. Jones and McNair are able to cover on both flanks along with the versatile Ashley Young.

Another question for United is which Wayne Rooney would turn up on the day. Would it be the Rooney, who has the unrivalled scoring record against the Gunners in the league or the Rooney, who has endured a poor start to the season?

With the announcement of the starting XI by the manager it was clear that Young was preferred to Valencia and would start as the left back and in midfield the returning Carrick would add the valuable experience alongside Schweinsteiger with Schneiderlin on the bench but likely to replace one of the midfield duo at some stage.

Martial was once again chosen to lead United's attack and would be looking to prove his talent against another so called big team after a more than impressive start to his United career, having been directly involved in four goals in his first three Premier League games, netting three and assisting with one.

Man United's starting XI: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Blind, Darmian, Carrick, Schweinsteiger, Mata, Rooney, Memphis and Martial.
Subs: Romero, Jones, McNair, Schneiderlin, Valencia, Fellaini and Wilson.

Wearing their changed strip of all black United started on the back foot as the sides spent the opening few minutes entrenched in the visitors penalty area and the pressure from the Gunners paid off when first Sanchez opened the scoring with a neat near-post flick that was followed by a strike from Ozil to put the hosts 2-0 up in the opening six minutes.

Any game plan that United had disappeared straight out of the window and the match became a real test of the team's character to see if they had it in them to come back from the disastrous start.

Over the next ten minutes, United did attempt to try and conjure up something, but the end result was a massive let down with the final ball failing to amount to anything near a chance.

Then it was that man Sanchez again, who added the third with a blistering strike into the top corner from the edge of the box. The game was quickly becoming an embarrassment for the Red Devils, who had to be very careful that they were not going to be on the end of a rout.

To make things worse, that was the first time that Arsenal had scored three goals against United in the league since 2001.

Sanchez's speed and ability was causing Darmian all sorts of problems on the wing and the Italian went into the referee's book for a cynical foul on the Chilean after he was beaten for pace and pulled the forward back.

At least United had an effort at the end of the half as Martial span on a penny and got a shot away which keeper Cech managed to block and that was the only chance of note that United created all half.

Collectively in the first half United were poor as they struggled to get any type of foothold in the match and at times looked like a team of strangers playing together for the first time and if it hadn't been for some wasteful shooting Arsenal could have gone in at half-time five goals to the good.

To be a fly on the wall in the visitors dressing room would have been priceless as van Gaal must have ripped into his side as no-one could have held their head up as a United player after the most dire 45 minutes by any United team in years. Rooney had to shoulder most of the blame because as captain he should be the one on the field to lead by example but, unfortunately, his performance was one of the worst and not for the first time this season.

The second half couldn't get any worse, could it?

At the start of the second half van Gaal decided to make a double substitution by replacing Memphis and Darmian with Valencia and Fellaini.

Fellaini took up the position that Rooney had been playing in the first period and he himself started on the left wing and as the game went on he moved inside to a more central attacking position. Valencia was a straight swap in the right back position.

Just after the hour mark Rooney had his first effort on goal which was saved at full stretch by Cech and if not for a heavy first touch in the penalty area by Schweinsteiger he could have grabbed a goal back but the ball was smothered by the keeper.

As the game entered the final twenty minutes at least United tried to get something from the game and through some neat passing the ball ended up at the feet of Mata who tried to curl the ball into the top corner but pulled the chance just wide. Even the mercurial Mata was having one of those days to forget.

The final change came in the final ten minutes as Mata made way for James Wilson, who would partner Martial in attack in the hope of salvaging some crumb of respect from the defeat.

In added time, United's performance was summed up when Rooney gave away the ball in a dangerous area and Oxlade-Chamberlain saw his effort rebound off the crossbar. Maybe a fourth would have been too harsh on United after their second half display.

Overall the match was lost in the opening quarter of an hour in which the lack of concentration by United will be a worry to the manager as it is not the first time this season that the team have struggled to get going during the first half and even though they enjoyed more of the possession in the second half this was only because Arsenal had all but done the job. If there was one player who stood out in the tepid display, then it would have to be Anthony Martial who on numerous occasions at least tried to make the breakthrough in attack.

Normally, it is said that one bad result doesn't reflect on the season however, after what the fans witnessed at the Emirates it is a concern as the side lacked any type of cohesion and usually they can get away with one or two players underperforming but as a team it becomes more difficult. To rub salt into the wounds, the Gunners leapfrogged United into second place with a superior goal difference.

There is the now the upcoming inconvenience of the international break so van Gaal has to wait a week before he can address the problems emanating from the Emirates performance before some tough challenges ahead, including Everton and Man City in the league plus back to back matches against CSKA Moscow.

On this occasion, it was the Professor who came out on top and gave the Philosopher a lot to ponder.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

Farewell to United's Flying Dutchman.

In 2012 Robin van Persie left the Gunners to fire Manchester United to their record breaking 20th Premier League title and in doing so cemented his status as a hero among the United fans.

However, all good things must come to an end and after three years at Old Trafford Robin van Persie has agreed to sign for Turkish outfit Fenerbahce in Istanbul.

After eight years at Arsenal in which he only won the FA Cup van Persie was brought to United by Alex Ferguson for a fee of around £23m and immediately made an impact with the United faithful by choosing to wear the number 20 on his shirt explaining that if the Red Devils win the Premier league in his first season it would be their 20th.

His debut didn't exactly go according to plan when he came on to replace Welbeck against Everton, but he couldn't stop the Toffees winning 1-0 at Goodison Park, however, five days later he started his first game for United and managed to score in front of the Old Trafford crowd as United beat Fulham 3-2.

At Arsenal van Persie had regularly been sidelined with injuries, but in his first season at United it was a different story as he went on to make a total of 48 appearances scoring 30 goals a brilliant return by any standards.

The majority of goals that he scored proved pivotal in bringing the Premier League trophy to Old Trafford. They included his first hat-trick against Southampton, a late penalty at Anfield to secure a 2-1 win, a goal against his former club Arsenal celebrated with great aplomb, an injury time free kick away to Man City to give United a 3-2 victory and lastly an absolutely fantastic hat-trick versus Aston Villa to secure the league title. Included in his three goals against Villa was a sublime volley.

Everybody could see that van Persie and his manager enjoyed a very good relationship and it was summed up when the Dutchman struck a penalty away at Stoke after which he immediately rushed over to the touchline where he jumped into the grateful arms of Alex Ferguson.

Van Persie had also built a rapport with the fans who voted him their player of the year for that Championship winning season.

Sadly for United and as it turned out van Persie, Alex Ferguson called it a day while he was at the top and was replaced in the summer of 2013 with David Moyes. Things did get off to a promising start as van Persie scored a double against Wigan in the traditional curtain opener, The Community Shield, and he carried his goal scoring form into the first league match of the season scoring another two against Swansea City on the road.

However, the season turned out to be a disaster for the club with the players clearly not enjoying the style of play under Moyes. Over the season van Persie managed 28 appearances and scored 18 goals.

The one bittersweet match for van Persie was in the Champions League last 16 tie against Greek side Olympiakos at Old Trafford. Needing to overturn a 0-2 deficit van Persie really got amongst the visitors scoring another fantastic hat-trick to give the home side a 3-2 aggregate victory.

The celebrations were hampered by the news that United's goal hero had picked up an injury that would mean he would not only miss the quarter-final against Bayern Munich, but also meant that he would not be available for selection by interim manager Ryan Giggs, who had replaced sacked Moyes, until the season was all but over.

After that dreadful season things started to look up for the Dutch striker, not only had Moyes been replaced by his friend and national team manager Louis van Gaal, but he also had the 2014 World Cup tournament to look forward to in Brazil and what a start to the competition as Holland thrashed holders Spain 5-1 with van Persie scoring twice. The one that had everyone talking was the marvellous diving header from distance which earned him the nickname 'The Flying Dutchman.'

Van Gaal and his team managed to go all the way to the semi-finals and United fans became excited about the upcoming season, especially with the new talent brought into the squad which would include a potent forward line of van Persie, Rooney, Falcao and Di Maria. To say the fans were licking their lips would have been an understatement.

Van Persie was overlooked by van Gaal for the captaincy of United in favour of Rooney at the start of the 2014-15 season, but as the gentleman he is van Persie never moaned and gave his backing to his new captain.

Over the season van Persie managed to make one more appearance than the previous one, but it was his eye for goal that was the problem managing only 10 which all came in the league. To be fair, he did miss a chunk of the season with an ankle injury and at the age of 31 his stamina must have been sapped by a long run and the heat in the World Cup in Brazil.

His commitment to the cause could never be questioned along with the respect from the fans as was shown when he netted the late equaliser against Chelsea. Old Trafford erupted as he put the ball in the net and his shirt throwing celebration was one of relief and joy.

Even though United qualified for the Champions League by finishing fourth it became clear that van Persie wasn't in van Gaal's plans for the future and a move to Fenerbahce was agreed.

Robin van Persie had nothing to prove when he came to United as he was already a proven striker of pure class, however, in his time at the club he continued to surprise with the quality of his finishing especially in his first season.

If only he had joined at a younger age who knows what more he could have achieved as a Red Devil.

Good luck and thanks for the great memories and goals Robin.

Miles Dunton.

Manchester United Fixtures Preview 2015/16

It seems that last season has only just finished but this week saw the release of next season's fixture list.

All the fans have their own preference of which match to look for first whether it be by team or date. The most important matches have to be the Liverpool fixtures followed by the derby dates.

There is, of course, no such thing as an easy season, however, Louis van Gaal must have been quietly confident when he saw the fixtures as it has thrown up a fairly easy start and end to the season with the hardest of the matches coming mid-season which gives the team time to get into a winning rhythm.

The Red Devils will kick off their season with by far the biggest match of the opening weekend at Old Trafford against Spurs followed by an away trip to Aston Villa then it's Newcastle at home.
August ends with a tricky journey to Wales to take on Swansea who started our season off with a defeat last year. In the middle of those games, United will have the not so small task of the UEFA Champions League qualifying matches.

A collective spirit is needed.

There will be the dreaded international break before our first big clash in mid-September at home to Liverpool, memories of last season's double over them still fresh in the mind. Two more games in September see us play the much improved Southampton away and Sunderland, who were so lucky to escape the drop last time round, at Old Trafford.

Rooney scores against Arsenal.

October will prove a difficult month as it starts with two matches away first a visit to the Emirates to play Arsenal followed by Everton. Then it's the first local derby at home to Man City. Last season was sweet against the Gunners and City but sticky versus the toffees. Crystal Palace will provide the opposition at Selhurst Park at the end of the month.

The three matches in November seem to be relatively straightforward, if that's possible for United, they are WBA at home, newly promoted Watford away and Leicester away.

Ashley Young in his Watford days.

The month will see a return to Vicarage Road for Ashley Young, who started his career at Watford. It's been eight years since The Hornets were last in the top flight.

The busy festive month of December will see United play in a total of five matches three home and two away. It starts with a home game against West Ham with their new manager Bilic then a trip to the south coast to play Premier League debutantes AFC Bournemouth who we last played in the FA Cup back in 1989.

Another newly promoted side Norwich will visit Old Trafford then Boxing Day will see all the fans dressed as Santa at The Britannia Stadium to take on Stoke. Come the end of the year will hopefully be a match that is going to have a strong bearing on the Premiership title, Chelsea at home.

AFC Bournemouth celebrating promotion

The first match in 2016 will see the visit of Swansea to Manchester followed by a break in the league for the FA Cup 3rd round. After which United will be on their travels to Newcastle and Anfield the scene of Juan Mata's heroics last time we played there. The month will end with Southampton at home.

February starts with former red Mark Hughes bringing his Stoke side to Old Trafford which will be followed by United playing Chelsea at Stamford bridge on the 58th anniversary to the day of the Munich air disaster. Sunderland away comes before yet another big clash of the month Arsenal at home.

Mata the Anfield hero.

Hopefully, by the time March comes around United will be well placed for the league run in and will host Watford then visit WBA. Crystal Palace at home will be followed by our last match against one of our possible major opponents for the league, Man City at the Etihad. It would also be nice to think that United will be still involved in the knockout stages of the Champions League and the FA Cup.

The last seven matches in April and May appear to offer United a chance to end the season strongly and it starts with Everton at home then Spurs away. By the time we play Villa at Old Trafford and West Ham away, we could be potentially gearing up for silverware in the league or one of the cups or dare I say both.

Our last three games of the league season are Leicester at home followed by Norwich away, then Old Trafford will witness the last match of the campaign as Bournemouth will hopefully be trying to spoil the Champions' celebrations.

I foresee United getting off to a flying start compared to the stuttering beginning last season. Louis van Gaal has now had a year in the Old Trafford hot seat and will have learnt from his and the teams' mistakes of the previous season. Add to that the new arrivals that have been signed to strengthen the squad and there is every reason to be optimistic about the chances of being able to challenge on all four fronts next season.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

United end home season with a draw.

Manchester United 1 Arsenal 1

Louis van Gaal delivered on his promise of a top four finish as United went into their final match of the season at Old Trafford.

After Liverpool were defeated at Anfield by Crystal Palace it confirmed United's place in one of the Champions League spots.

Arsenal held the advantage of finishing third as they have an extra game to play but United had a chance to issue a statement of intent and gain revenge for the defeat by the Gunners in the FA Cup quarter-final which was United's only realistic chance of silverware.

With transfer speculation ripe in the build up to the match, especially concerning player of the season David de Gea, the question was which players would be playing their final matches for United at the Theatre of Dreams?

I would be disappointed if De Gea departed for his hometown club after United have invested money and time in his development only for Real Madrid to benefit from his undoubted talent. I would prefer him to stay a few years longer and help United to get back to former glories and become a red legend therefore making it more difficult for him to leave. However, I wouldn't hold it against him if he did go as it would be too tempting for him to return home.

Other players who could have said their farewells if reports are to be believed are Januzaj, Falcao, Evans and Robin van Persie.

Unfortunately, Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw hadn't overcome their injuries in time for selection so here was Louis van Gaal's team: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Smalling, Rojo, Mata, Blind, Herrera, Young, Fellaini and Falcao.

Chris Smalling had the honour of captaining United, Falcao was given a start in the absence of Rooney and Rojo returned after injury to take over from Shaw at left back.

Subs: Valdes, Blackett, McNair, Di Maria, Januzaj, van Persie and Wilson.

No starting place for van Persie against his old team. It is not a good sign for the Dutchman who couldn't even get a start ahead of underperforming Falcao when he’s playing his old club. The manager has always said he generally plays players against their old teams because they have that extra edge. Yet again, Angel Di Maria started on the bench.

United kicked off the match attacking the old Scoreboard End.

It all started very scrappily in the midfield as both sides took their time to settle into the game.
Ashley Young had United's first chance on goal in the 6th minute with his trademark cut inside followed by a right-footed effort that sailed over the bar.

As you would expect from these two rivals it was a highly combative start backed up with both sets of fans in fine voice.

8 minutes in and Young and Fellaini nearly repeated the Palace goal, but the Belgian couldn't reach the ball with his head at the far post. From the resulting clearance, Falcao was played through but his effort was cleared for a corner which when taken fell to Smalling whose shot was blocked for another corner.

First 10 minutes and it was the home side doing all the attacking. With Smalling leading as a captain should with some fine build up from the back.

Mata won a free-kick right on the edge of the area in the 13th minute which Falcao lined up, but it was Mata himself who fired the ball tamely into the keeper's arms. Where's Depay when you need him?

After 20 minutes, there was still no breakthrough for either side but Arsenal were slowly creeping into the match with Sanchez and Giroud looking like their biggest threat.

In the 21st minute, Phil Jones cleared the danger with a header while lying flat on the grass before Giroud could pounce. Great, if not comedic improvisation.

Just before the half hour Arsenal broke with a long ball which Jones nearly touched past De Gea in a mix up between the two. If David De Gea does leave for Madrid I guarantee he won't miss the likes of Jones and Evans that's for sure.

29 minutes 1-0 United. A superb goal by Ander Herrera after a great cross from the left by Ashley Young. Herrera ran to the far post after anticipating Young's ball and hit a beautiful rıght footed volley into the net.

That's his sixth premier league goal from seven attempts an impressive strike rate.

Young has been excellent since the turn of the year and his assists have helped United into the top four that's for sure.

Since the goal, the play went a little quiet with the ball stuck between the opposing midfielders.

38 minutes in and Mata did well to work a cross from a tight angle on the byline Falcao tried his best to steer home his header but was put off by Koscielny. Summed up Falcao's contribution so far by easily being knocked out of his stride.

The half ended with United enjoying most of the possession and with Blind attempting to put the home side ahead before the break with a couple of efforts the first of which was blocked on the way to goal by a combination of Rojo and Smalling.

A good 45 minutes from the home side who controlled the majority of the play and deserved to be in the lead. Arsenal didn't really offer anything in the way of chances even though Phil Jones did his best to help them.

Up front, Falcao offered nothing to the team and surely it wouldn't be long before he was replaced by Robin van Persie.

The Gunners started the second half with United attacking the Stretford End for the last time this season.

Louis van Gaal made no changes to the side at half time so Falcao would have a last chance to win over the home fans. The Colombian started the half in a feisty mood battling for the ball and winning a free kick which was taken far too quickly.

The 49th minute saw a nice passing movement involving Mata, Fellaini and Young with the winger managing to cross the ball into the danger zone, but it was too close to the keeper. One minute later Alexis Sanchez had a great opportunity to equalise for the visitors but his volley was high, wide and handsome.

54 minutes. Rojo tried his luck from outside the box which Ospina managed to save low down on his line.

Smalling was commanding at the back as he stopped everything that Arsenal threw at him. Maybe wearing the armband brought the best out of him.

Blind almost played Young in on goal, but the flag was raised against Falcao who was standing in an offside position.

An hour into the match and van Gaal had seen enough of Falcao as van Persie replaced the striker. As the Colombian left the pitch he waved to the home fans as if signalling that was his time over at Old Trafford.

One thing I noticed is that Falcao's reaction time is nowhere near good enough as on too many occasions he was slow on the uptake and lost the ball far too easily. He spent more time falling over than on his feet. As good as he was in the past he is not good enough for United now.

Following the change that man David de Gea came to the teams rescue yet again this season this time blocking a shot from Giroud with his legs. Which prompted the ground to start chanting his name and asking him to stay a red.

Two minutes later it was Rojo's turn to be the hero as he intercepted a through ball just in time.
The action and challenges were heating up as Arsenal tried to get back into the game but at the same time leaving themselves open for counter attacks by United.

In the 69th minute, Rojo was in the right place at the right time again to clear the danger which gave the visitors another corner. Rojo was having a great match on his return as his full-blooded style of play stopped Arsenal in their tracks at every opportunity.

Then in the 72nd minute David de Gea left the pitch with what looked like a leg injury but could have a deeper meaning. He was replaced by Victor Valdes who made his debut appearance for the first team. De Gea received a standing ovation from the Old Trafford faithful as he made his way to the tunnel.

Is it possible that De Gea gifted a chance of a run out to his compatriot Valdes?

At the same time, the impressive Rojo was replaced by Tyler Blackett.

A quarter of an hour left and Young had another run down the left and his industrious work earned a corner. When the ball was cleared by Arsenal a huge cheer rang out as Valdes got his first touch of the ball.

In the 81st minute, Arsenal got the equaliser in a somewhat fortunate fashion as Walcott's shot was deflected over Valdes by Blackett. The keeper was unlucky there, but the visitors had been threatening since the introduction of Walcott. The goal was given as an own goal to Blackett.

Following the goal Daley Blind literally had a blind moment when he passed the ball to, well, no one.
Van Persie had a great chance to restore the lead but fired the ball over the bar from inside the area in the 87th minute. What an opportunity!

Try as they might United couldn't find the winner in the closing moments which would have taken them above Arsenal.

The game ended all square and once again United will rue their missed chances which have blighted the season. Not being able to capitalise on the high percentage of possession has been one of the reasons we are not higher up the league that and the shoddy defence.

It now looks certain that United will end the season in fourth place and will have to play a tricky European qualifier to get into the Champions League proper. Tough ties in Greece, Turkey and Russia could lie ahead for United.

There were positives to be taken from the match with the form of Young and Rojo down the left, the work rate of the two amigos Mata and Herrera in midfield and Smalling putting in a captain's role. Unfortunately, there were also negatives including Falcao's lacklustre performance, the early departure of de Gea and the none appearance of Di Maria.

After the final whistle Louis van Gaal grabbed the microphone and thanked the Old Trafford faithful for their support and said he would see them again next season.

This was followed by the players making their way around the stadium rather solemnly after the draw and, of course, empty handed.

Wayne Rooney's son Klay delighted the crowd by sticking the ball in the net at the Stretford End which was more than Falcao had managed.

Only one match to go and that is at relegation-threatened Hull City.  They need a win over United and hope that Newcastle lose. I feel for red legend Steve Bruce as he is one of the honest managers in the league and I would rather the Geordies were relegated, but United need to end the season on a high. In the drop zone, it will be an exciting and nervous last day of the season.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

United vs Arsenal 1979 Cup Final: A personal memory.

12th of May 1979.

I woke up early that May morning jumped out of bed and opened the curtains to let the bright sunlight fill my bedroom. Today was going to be a great day but I had a lot to do that morning, clothes to organise, a visit to the hairdresser with my brothers, collect the rental cars and pick up the flowers.

You might be wondering why I was going through all this trouble for a United cup final against Arsenal at Wembley well the answer is all that preparation was in fact for my mum's wedding to my stepfather. Yes, that's correct my dear mum had booked her wedding on the same day that Dave Sexton would be leading out my beloved Red Devils at Wembley.

To make matters worse all my step father's family were Arsenal fans and my side were reds through and through.

In my mums defence, she had gone ahead and selected the date before United had played and beaten Liverpool in the semi-finals not believing that United would prevail, Oh woman of little faith.

The biggest worry that morning was as the wedding kicked off, sorry ceremony began at 2pm would we make it to the wedding reception before the match started and would there be TV's with which to watch the match.

The ceremony went smoothly and as the confetti was being thrown my brothers and myself were already in the cars tuning in the radio as the match had started five minutes previously. The score was 0-0 so far so good.

We arrived at the reception and quickly sought out a TV while mum was busy meeting and greeting her guests. We found one behind the bar and our hearts sank as Arsenal had taken the lead in the 12th minute through Talbot.

As everybody took their places for the meal and awaited the speeches there was another goal from Arsenal this time scored by future red Frank Stapleton. At half-time United trailed 0-2.

The best man's speech thankfully didn't drag on too long and once the formalities had been observed we headed straight to the bar area where four TV's had been set up for the last 10 minutes of the match, and what a last 10 minutes it was.

It must have been a funny old sight as all of us were sat in our best wedding outfits glued to the television as first Gordon McQueen, playing up front as he was totally knackered, pulled a goal back then the equaliser that lifted the roof of the reception hall. Sammy McIlroy had pulled United level with a superb solo goal.

2-2 and Arsenal would surely be deflated going into extra-time as United were in the ascendency this was going to be our day again.

The next few minutes didn't really sink in until a considerable time later as I was still bouncing from the equaliser and looking forward to the 30 minutes of extra time.

I didn't really take much notice as the ball was crossed in from the left high into United's area and over the reach of keeper Gary Bailey and fell for the approaching Alan Sunderland, who beat Arthur Albiston to poke it home.

The cheers from the Arsenal side of my new family snapped me out of my stunned silence and disbelief of what we had just witnessed. The game was lost at the death after a typically valiant fightback by United.

It was back to the wedding celebrations which continued late into the night. My mum Jayne and stepfather Peter spent many a happy year together but after this experience they were very careful about the dates of future family celebrations.

Memories you can't beat them.

Miles Dunton.

Ashley Young is flying again.

With the announcement, last summer, of Louis van Gaal as the new manager of Manchester United there must have been a few players at Old Trafford instructing their agents to start looking for pastures new.

Among those, was possibly Ashley Young who had endured a torrid season under David Moyes as had most of the team.

Having been brought to United three years previously in 2011 by Alex Ferguson his career started well enough that season with some encouraging performances and eye-catching goals. He was outstanding in the 8-2 demolition of Arsenal at the start of his Old Trafford career contributing with a double.

His encouraging start was brought to an abrupt halt when he suffered an injury that kept him out until February 2012. In his absence, United had been knocked out of the Champions League and had to compete in the Europa league.

Although he chipped in with goals in the remainder of the season he wasn't quite the same player as when he had arrived.

In Ferguson's last season as manager, 2012-13 Young made a total of 18 appearances and didn't find the net once. His season was blighted by accusations from all parties about his unsportsmanlike diving in the oppositions area for penalties. It became a regular event and certainly didn't bring him any sympathy from the United fans.

Once Ferguson had stepped down it was the turn of David Moyes to try and bring the best out of Young but the new problem for Young was the form of a certain Adnan Januzaj.

Januzaj made more appearances than Young that season and chipped in with one more goal than him. To rub it in the teenager even replaced Young as a substitute to make his league debut.

It was frustrating to watch Young play as he clearly had so much talent, but he seemed to be struggling with his form and even the diving question raised its ugly head and once again blighted his reputation.

So, with yet another new manager entering the arena last summer the writing seemed to be on the wall for Young along with other players including Fellaini. Young had even lost his place in the England set up since being involved in the 2012 Euro's.

However, here we are coming to the end of the season in which United look to have claimed a priceless fourth place in the Premier League thanks in no small part to the performances week in week out of Ashley Young.

Originally used as a left wing back in Louis van Gaal's dreaded 3-5-2 formation at the beginning of the season Young never gave up or complained about how difficult he was finding it and how frustrating it was to play in that position.

He was cautioned for diving against Sunderland back in August which van Gaal must have reacted strictly to as there has been thankfully no repeat of it since.

Once the manager saw sense and realised that his side wouldn't win anything with that setup and reverted to a more traditional four at the back and wingers Young was off and flying.

So far this season his has made the most Premier League appearances of his United career, 24 and contributed with 4 assists and 28 shots netting twice. However, it's not his goals that have impressed it's his wing play that has made him one of United's success stories this season.

Like his teammate Fellaini who had also endured a tough season under Moyes, Young has been rejuvenated under van Gaal and is finally repaying the loyal supporters with some sterling displays.

His work rate down the left against Crystal Palace in United's latest victory summed up his transformation and earned the win and a valuable three points. It could also see him recalled to the England squad. He deserves nothing less.

Even with the imminent arrival of Memphis Depay I still feel that Young has a lot to offer United and it could be Adnan Januzaj who becomes surplus to requirements and loaned out next season.

If so, how the tables have turned.

Update: Ashley signed a new 3 year contract at United on August 7th 2015.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.