I posted something about this on the "preview" but being as most of the comments on highlights and previews are asinine and ill-informed I thought it would be best to open this discussion to the normal users of FR.

In short, what I said is I think this could be a season defining match for the following reasons:
#1- There is a 2 week international break after this match and it will set the tone for the rest of the season.
#2- IF United lose they will be 11 points off the top from mid-November and
it will be statistically highly improbable that they will win the
league.
#3- IF Arsenal were to win, they'd maintain a 5 point lead at
the top of the table and will be going into the international break
having beaten Spurs, Napoli, Liverpool, Dortmund, and United. In short,
they will officially be serious title contenders at that point.
#4- IF there is a draw, things will still kind of remain in the air.
United will continue their non-losing form and Arsenal will still be top
of the table no matter if they win,lose, or draw.
#5- IF United Win it may be the impetus they need to come back in old school United
fashion and correct the poor start to their season. Just as
significantly it may plant that SEED of Doubt in the Arsenal players
minds and they may begin to question themselves and crumble as they have
in the past.

I sincerely hope we can beat United at their home, a feat we've failed
to accomplish in recent seasons. But even more importantly, I think
whatever happens, we CANNOT LOSE. It will be a devastating blow to
whomever loses. I am not EXPECTING a win but I am hoping for it. I do
not underestimate united and neither do I overestimate my own team. I
just hope it's a fair match and that we do our very best. That is all I
ask.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

@footaholic, man utd will deploy the same tactics they've been using few seasons against us, sit deep with two defensive mids (1 destroyer = jones 1 aggressor = carrick/cleverly) and hit us on the counter. they are gonna pull the same tactics we used against dortmund. its gonna be cagey for the first 15-20 mins bu who ever scores first, then hell's gonna break loose. i'm rooting for us to win

@stern
go to : www.rojadirecta.me and find the game, theire are a lot of stable links...
In term of consistency, Arsenal dont have any problems with weaker teams, i can see them Champions if they got no injuries an judging the actual form of other big 4 teams...
But an away win against United, can be very promising for Gunners to go far in CL.

No no no. You have got to be SH*TTING ME!
"4 of Arsenal's players have come down with a virus. Two of them, Per Mertesacker and Tomas Rosicky, will not be available. The other two are Mikel Arteta and the young Serge Gnabry. Arteta will still start. Club captain Thomas Vermaelen will start in place of Mertesacker"

So, we have a midfield of a just returning from injury Flamini and an ill Arteta and our most important CB is missing? OH, and our MOTM against Dortmund... great.

sucks, it alwiz happens when we play man utd

F*CK IT. WE CAN DO THIS AND WE WILL! Vermaelen has to show the world his quality now and lead.

LOL @Lodatz and GunnerAFC.

I'm a big fan of Villas-Boas and Pellegrini too, so don't worry Lodatz. ;)

Shuuuut its starting :)

United is Back !

ramaboy10

:P

man utd is our bogey team

Fuch this. I'm in a super bad mood now. Typical game at OT for us. United simply wanted it more than us. We definitely have the quality to beat that manchester united squad, but we were no where near our best level, the one we showed against liverpool. Ramsey was poor before he was put back in the center, cazorla was poor, and ozil was just awful.

We saw at the end when gnabry was subed on the good a winger can do to our system. We really really need walcott and the ox and podolski to come back.

it's hard to make an impact when your only attacking sub is this

^^^ Bendtner flopped that cross. And RVP is a Judas, what else is new?

We really had a few chances in the last 20, but Man U defended too well, and our finishing was non-existent.

@quik i laughed at that

@quikzyyy, Gnabry? Wilshere?

yea, we put both on. I think Gnabry should be subbed on earlier. Wenger should subbed Ozil today instead of Cazorla, it just wasn't his day. But I still think we deserved draw from this match, but goals matters..

I agree. Both Wilshere and Gnabry made a significant impact when they came in. I don't want to make Bendtner the scapegoat. United's defense was top class.

We just came back from Dortmund and our players were tired. Luckily the international break is up and our players can catch breath. We have a decent next 5 fixture and I am confident we can get 4/5 wins. The hard game will be Man city away.

@ArsenalGunners. I wouldn't call that an excuse (being tired from an away game), considering that Arsenal are a top club, and we too came back from a hard fought match in San Sebastian (Spain). But w.e