Time for excuses is over, Manchester United and Arsenal need to get back to challenging at...

[ASFN Admin]

Fifteenth host 11th in the Premier League this weekend which, given it is Manchester United at home to Arsenal, is a sobering thought for both clubs. Of course, the season is not quite a sixth of the way through – and United have a game in hand – but between them the two teams have already lost five of their 11 league games. Indeed, there was almost something wistful about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reminiscing over the heft and weight of previous, epic meetings. “When I played it was between us and Arsenal to win the league, so that was a very fierce rivalry,” the United manager said. “There are all sorts of stories about what happened - that’s the passion, the excitement, the importance of those games. Of course we knew if we took six points off them that’d be us winning the league more or less and vice versa.” Solskjaer is right. For nine seasons between 1995-96 and 2003-04, United, with six titles, and Arsenal, with three, shared the Premier League between them. It was utter, prolonged, multi-layered domination. In five of those campaigns – from 1997 to 2001 and then again in 2002-03, they fought it out to finish first and second and that is without recalling the personal battles and enmity that drove Roy Keane to declare: “I can’t think of any other word that springs to mind when I was going into battle with Arsenal. Hatred was the word.” Sunday’s meeting will be Solskjaer’s 100th game as United manager with Mikel Arteta – who impressed the Arsenal hierarchy to such an extent that his title was elevated from head coach to manager before the season started – in charge for a 39th match. Both had to pick up the pieces at the clubs they played for with such distinction, with United feeling traumatised by the stress of Jose Mourinho and Arsenal demoralised by the soullessness of Unai Emery. They both have had to do this as relative rookies, and even if Solskjaer may balk at that suggestion given he has been a manager for nine years, it is undeniably true that the work he did at Molde and Cardiff City could not have prepared him for this level of exposure and expectation. Premier League bottom half

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