Two strikes and an assist for fantasy fave Ronaldo delivered a killer blow to Arsenal’s Champions League hopes tonight. Those hopes were all but extinguished early on by Park’s finish after a slip from Gibbs, before Ronaldo sealed passage to the final for United with two goals of his own. The spot-kick from Van Persie, which saw Fletcher harshly red-carded, was scant consolation to an Arsenal side simply destroyed in front of their own fans.
From a fantasy perspective you have to wonder just how the result and performances will affect both sides from this point on. United will surely go into the Manchester derby this weekend with a huge amount of confidence. The Gunners meanwhile, will have huge gaping wounds to lick before their home game with Chelsea….
Tonight’s team lineups were predictable enough. Ferdinand returned to the back four alongside Vidic, while Evra shook off a knock to start at left-back. O’Shea kept the right-back berth. Ferguson started with Fletcher and Anderson in midfield, keeping the experience of Scholes and Giggs in reserve. That pair look likely to figure against City this weekend then. Berbatov and Tevez were also preserved – with Rooney and Ronaldo spearheading the United attack. Again, they will likely come into the equation for starting roles at the weekend.
As for Arsenal, Djourou started alongside Toure with Silvestre benched. Van Persie’s return was the big news however – that saw a standard 4-4-2 from Wenger which meant Fabregas was withdrawn to a deeper role. With Van Persie back as an option, it seems likely that we’ll see 4-4-2 from Arsenal from this point on, which wouldn’t be great news for Fabregas owners who will have enjoyed his spell playing just behind the striker in a 4-5-1.
The big question mark for those owning Arsenal players however is not the formation for the final fixtures, it’s the effect that tonight’s game will have on their confidence. The Gunners have been flying of late, but tonight’s lesson will surely come as a major blow. With fourth place assured, you have to wonder if Wenger will choose to take some of his senior players out of the firing line for the remaining games and give more exposure to the likes of Diaby, Bendtner and Vela.
As for United, owners of their players (that’s all of us right?) will now have to assess the likelihood of rest of rotation going into the final games in preparation for the Champions League final. Presumably, with the title won for the trip to Hull, we’re likely to see heavy rotation for that game at the very least.