silentassassin
Face Of The Franchise
Park's goal proves enough to disappoint Wenger
Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United took the initiative in the Premier League title race after a tight 1-0 win over arch-rivals Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Ji-Sung Park's brilliantly deft and improvised header in the 41st minute gave United the three points that allowed Ferguson's men to leapfrog Arsene Wenger's team at the top of the table by two points.
But the match epitomised what has been a fiercely competitive and entertaining title race, with a lack of overall quality in the areas that matter most.
And Wayne Rooney's hopelessly wayward second-half penalty, after Gael Clichy was adjudged to have handled inside the 18-yard area, provided a snapshot of the 90 minutes.
For Arsenal, the sorry statistic of a fifth reverse concealed a desperately disappointing performance which did not get that much better even after Wenger had thrown his star man Cesc Fabregas on in a last desperate bid to secure a share of the spoils.
Ferguson made the point in his programme notes that Arsenal are not the "lilywhites" they are often painted and so it proved during a tight first half in which the Gunners were well prepared to dish out some rough treatment. On a ground where they have often been ill-treated in the past, the visitors were more than willing to stand toe-to-toe with their opponents, the only surprise being that World Cup final referee Howard Webb did not book Marouane Chamakh and Andrey Arshavin until the last seconds of the opening period.
Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United took the initiative in the Premier League title race after a tight 1-0 win over arch-rivals Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Ji-Sung Park's brilliantly deft and improvised header in the 41st minute gave United the three points that allowed Ferguson's men to leapfrog Arsene Wenger's team at the top of the table by two points.
But the match epitomised what has been a fiercely competitive and entertaining title race, with a lack of overall quality in the areas that matter most.
And Wayne Rooney's hopelessly wayward second-half penalty, after Gael Clichy was adjudged to have handled inside the 18-yard area, provided a snapshot of the 90 minutes.
For Arsenal, the sorry statistic of a fifth reverse concealed a desperately disappointing performance which did not get that much better even after Wenger had thrown his star man Cesc Fabregas on in a last desperate bid to secure a share of the spoils.
Ferguson made the point in his programme notes that Arsenal are not the "lilywhites" they are often painted and so it proved during a tight first half in which the Gunners were well prepared to dish out some rough treatment. On a ground where they have often been ill-treated in the past, the visitors were more than willing to stand toe-to-toe with their opponents, the only surprise being that World Cup final referee Howard Webb did not book Marouane Chamakh and Andrey Arshavin until the last seconds of the opening period.