FA Premier League| Matchday 3: United 8-2 Arsenal

Wayne Rooney hat-trick the highlight as champions humiliate Wenger's men. Sir Alex Ferguson's side dominated at the Theatre of Dreams to make it three wins in three so far this season for the hosts and add further woe to the hapless Gunners

 

Manchester United continued their perfect start to the season with a spectacular 8-2 win over an increasingly beleaguered Arsenal at Old Trafford. A Wayne Rooney hat-trick and a brace for Ashley Young, as well as strikes for Danny Welbeck, Nani and Park Ji-Sung exemplified the gulf in class between the two sides, as Theo Walcott and Robin Van Persie replied with strikes worthy of mere consolation.

Sir Alex Ferguson insisted that Manchester City’s  5-1 win away to Tottenham earlier on Sunday would have no affect on his team prior to kick-off but with their noisy neighbours raucous in the capital, there can be little doubt that the Scot will have expected a statement of equal intent from his charges against the league’s other north London side. He named an unchanged side for the clash, with both Welbeck and Tom Cleverley rewarded for their fine recent performances with starting berths.

The youthful make up of the hosts was somewhat mirrored by their opponents, with Arsene Wenger giving 20-year-old Francis Coquelin his league debut, though it appeared a decision borne out of necessity, with the visitors’ squad left threadbare due to a number of recent injuries, as well as the departures of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas. The champions started accordingly and the mobility of the United front line left the Gunners' prospects looking inauspicious within the opening 10 minutes and Welbeck's break away from Squillaci in the seventh should have yielded more than the limp left-footed effort it produced.

Arsenal were offering promise going forward but the air of inevitability surrounding an opener for the home side was soon justified in painful fashion for Wenger, as Anderson's fine lofted ball was allowed to bounce in the box by the Gunners' inexperienced defence, allowing Welbeck to nod home with ease on the 22nd minute. As the French boss watched on like a man down on his luck, his side were offered a somewhat fortuitous opportunity of getting back into the game, as Theo Walcott fell in the box under pressure from Jonny Evans. Assistant Darren Cann deemed it worthy of a penalty to the disbelief of the Northern Irishman but as Robin Van Persie saw his weak effort from the spot saved by the under-fire David De Gea, you couldn't help but feel that the perennial nature of Arsenal's decline was being played out with almost satirical predictability.

It was a case of it never raining but pouring for the Emirates outfit as only a minute later Young doubled the hosts' advantage. After seizing on a poor clearance from Armand Traore, the former Aston Villa man bent a simply beautiful effort past the stretching 6ft 4in frame of Wojciech Szczesny to further exemplify his seasmless transition into his new side. Andrey Arshavin was fortunate to escape a red card following a foul worthy of a second bookable offence on Young and the impressive Welbeck was cruelly forced off with a suspected hamstring pull but any suggestion that the tables were turning back in the favour of the visitors was quashed with the Red Devils' third as Rooney converted a sublime free-kick following Jenkinson's foul on Young on the edge of the area to pick up his 150th United goal. If any Arsenal performer deserved a reprieve it was the lively Walcott and his early endeavour was rewarded on the stroke of half-time as he pulled a goal back for the visitors after latching onto Rosicky's through ball to offer a semblance of respect to the scoreline.

With the visitors' collective obituary being written over the break, they returned to prove their doubters wrong and could've got back into the game with a Van Persie volley shortly before the hour mark but he was once again frustrated by the young Spaniard in the United goal. The poor defensive habits of Arsenal were proving to die hard however, and Tom Cleverley was allowed to run freely into the area to all but wrap up the game just wasted an easy chance into the arms of the grateful Szczesny. The youngster's sin was atoned for soon after as Rooney bent another free-kick past the helpless Pole into the opposite corner of the net from his earlier strike. The game, with over 20 minutes remaining, was up. However, the relentless attitude of the home side was not and they made it five soon after as Nani  found space in the area following a simple pass from Rooney split open the Gunners' back line and chipped a lovely effort home.

The Red Devils then turned the knife further, as Arsenal's chief-tormentor in recent years, Park made it six. Van Persie grabbed a consolation soon after before a red card for Jenkinson was sent off to sum up an utterly humiliating day for Wenger and his side. The perfect day for the Old Trafford faithful looked to have been neatly completed from the penalty spot as Rooney picked up his sixth United hat-trick following Walcott's push on Patrice Evra. Yet the agony for the north London side was finally confirmed in quite fantastic fashion as Young got his second his another curling wonder-strike. The home side's starting XI may have been younger than Arsenal's but following a ruthless performance of such quality at Old Trafford, Ferguson's sparkling kids proved once again that they are more than alright. Their opponents, it would seem, are anything but.

FA Premier League| Matchday 2: United 3-0 Tottenham

Red Devils begin Premier League title defence at Old Trafford with convincing second half display, as De Gea enjoys clean sheet, United secured a 3-0 victory over Tottenham in their first home game of the season, thanks to second half goals from Danny Welbeck, Anderson and Wayne Rooney.

Welbeck repaid the faith shown in him by Sir Alex Ferguson since the start of the season, with the 20-year-old influential in both United’s first two goals, whilst Rooney grabbed his second of the campaign to cap off a fine evening for the Premier League champions.Sir Alex was forced to name a new look backline following injuries to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in last week’s clash at West Brom, with Phil Jones and Jonny Evans slotting in at centre-back, whilst Patrice Evra returned to the team at left-back in an otherwise unchanged starting line-up.Brad Friedel was handed his competitive debut for Tottenham, replacing Heurelho Gomes in goal, as Harry Redknapp stuck with the same outfield XI that demolished Hearts 5-0 in

Thursday’s Europa League tie, with Croatian midfielder Luka Modric once again a notable absence.

The home side got off to lively start, with Younes Kaboul called into action to prevent Welbeck latching on to Ashley Young’s low cross, whilst Rafael van der Vaart’s casual loss of possession in the middle of his own half led to an early chance for Rooney, only for the striker to amely header Nani’s cross into the arms of Friedel.Indeed the American was forced into action first in the battle of the keepers, diving agilely to save Tom Cleverley’s well struck effort from the edge of the box that had seemed destined for the bottom right hand corner of his goal.Not until just before the half hour mark did United threaten again, with Rooney’s dinked cross finding Ashley Young in the box, who peeled off Benoit Assou-Ekotto well, only to see his looped header just evade the top right hand corner of the Tottenham goal.

The visitor’s were limited to shots from distance, with David de Gea overcoming the barrage of mid-week criticism and dealing comfortably with efforts from Gareth Bale and Van der Vaart, as the Spaniard instead shifted the focus onto his impressive distribution.Referee Lee Probert did well to calm a potential flash point between Nani and Kaboul after the winger caught the Frenchman with an outstretched leg, before bringing to a close a half which was void of any real moments of note.

Vedran Corluka replaced Kyle Walker at half time reportedly due to illness, although the 21-year-old had been consistently exposed at right-back throughout the first 45 minutes.Redknapp’s side enjoyed a dominant spell of possession early in the second half, but again lacked the vision and incisiveness to make it count in the final third, with United instead once again peppering the Spurs' goalmouth with shots from Young, Anderson and Rooney in succession.The deadlock was finally broken after 60 minutes, when Tom Cleverley’s fierce cross was met in the air by Welbeck, who drifted in between the Tottenham centre-backs unmarked and guided the ball into the left hand corner of Friedel’s goal.

Rooney then went close to doubling the host’s lead five minutes later from a free-kick on the edge of the box, before Welbeck audaciously attempted an over head kick as the ball bounced loosely in the area, only for Friedel to be on hand twice to thwart both attempts at goal.Jones was then on hand to stifle Bale as the Welshman looked to pull the trigger in the opposition box, before De Gea’s quick distribution found Young as United were straight back onto the counter-attack.The ball eventually found its way to Anderson, who fed the ball through to Welbeck in the box, who in turn played a delightful back heeled pass into the path of Anderson that wrong-footed both Dawson and Friedel, with the Brazilian sweeping the ball into the back of the net to give the home side a two-goal advantage.

Spurs were then unlucky not to take advantage of a questionable moment from De Gea, who failed to collect Corluka’s cross whilst under pressure from substitute Roman Pavyluchenko, with Defoe lashing his effort off the left hand post after the ball landed at his feet.Rooney was on hand to add a third after 87 minutes, rising well to meet Ryan Giggs' cross and nod the ball into the back of the net to cap a convincing display from the current Premier League champions.The victory puts Ferguson’s side level on points with Wolves and rivals Manchester City, with all three sides enjoying a perfect start to the season.

FA Premier League| Matchday 2: United Vs Tottenham Spurs [Preview]

United host Tottenham in the first Old Trafford match of the 2011/12 season...

Form guide
United began the new Barclays Premier League season with a gritty 2-1 win over West Brom at The Hawthorns, a promising sign for the Reds considering Sir Alex Ferguson’s side only picked up five away wins last season. Tottenham, meanwhile, are yet to start their domestic campaign after last weekend’s opener with Everton was postponed because of the London riots. Spurs were in action on Thursday, however, and showed no signs of rustiness in a 5-0 win over Hearts in their Europa League play-off first leg.

Ins and outs The United medical team is surprisingly busy at the minute, with up to six first-team players either suffering, or recovering from knocks. Defenders Rio Ferdinand (hamstring) and Nemanja Vidic (calf) were both injured against the Baggies and are unavailable, as is Rafael (shoulder), Darren Fletcher (virus), Antonio Valencia (ankle) and Javier Hernandez (concussion). As a result, youngsters Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans and Phil Jones are all set to deputise at the back against Spurs, who are similarly struggling with injuries. Harry Redknapp could be without want-away Luka Modric, Tom Huddlestone, Steven Pienaar, Jermaine Jenas and William Gallas.

Last meeting Tottenham boss Redknapp had challenged his side to lay down a significant marker in the title-race by beating United at White Hart Lane in January, though he did not get the result he craved. The match produced a tightly-fought 0-0 draw, a result that extended the Reds' unbeaten league run to 21 games.

Top manGareth Bale wins the awards, Rafael van der Vaart scores the goals and Peter Crouch does the dancing; but there’s no mistaking which player makes Tottenham tick. Modric, the diminutive Croatian playmaker and architect of attack at White Hart Lane, has been ever-present in the Spurs midfield since signing from Dinamo Zagreb in 2007 and is a world-class talent. Although a doubt for Monday’s match, Modric is definitely a man to watch.

Quote/unquote“Tottenham are a good team who like to play football the right way and they have the ability to beat anybody in the league. Last season, they were very strong and had some good results, particularly in the Champions League. Obviously there’s been a bit of uncertainty around a few players this summer, but whatever happens they still have good players and I think they’ll do well.” – Nemanja Vidic

Any sub-plots? What is it with questionable goals (or non-goals) between United and Tottenham at Old Trafford? In last season’s corresponding fixture, Nani somewhat controversially scored past Heurelho Gomes after the referee had appeared to halt play – it turns out he hadn’t and the goal stood – much to the dismay of Spurs. Years earlier, Pedro Mendes saw his ‘goal that never was’ denied by a linesman, who deemed the ball hadn’t crossed the line. Could lightning strike thrice on Monday?

Whistle-blower Monday’s match will be refereed by Lee Probert, who took charge of several United matches last season, including the Reds' 7-1 drubbing of Blackburn Rovers.

Rivals watchArsenal host Liverpool in one of two midday kick-offs on Saturday, while Chelsea welcome West Brom to Stamford Bridge at teatime. Manchester City make the short journey to Bolton on Sunday.

Sir Alex Ferguson ready to put trust in youth against Tottenham

With Vidic and Ferdinand injured, the Scot will give chances to Smalling and Jones after being impressed by fellow youngsters Cleverley & Welbeck at West Brom

Sir Alex Ferguson has come out before Manchester United’s match against Tottenham Hotspur in the second round of the English Premier League matches and has built up his team’s youth in his recent interview. Sir Alex who brought up the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville along with Nicky Butt and Phil Neville through the Manchester United youth academy has now turned his attention towards the likes of David De Gea, Thomas Cleverley and Danny Welbeck this season as United embark on yet another English Premier League season in which they are set to defend their 19th league title. United won the English Premier League title last year when they bested both Manchester City and Chelsea in the end to secure the league title by nine points.

They also made it to the UEFA Champions League final but lost to Barcelona at Wembley. Nonetheless, Ferguson won their first league match of the 2011-2012 season when they took on West Bromwich Albion on the previous weekend. Welbeck along with Cleverley and De Gea started for Manchester United as they racked up a 2-1 win at the Hawthorns stadium. However United are set to give a start to the likes of Johnny Evans along with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones on Monday when they take on Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford due to the injuries that were sustained by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic during the Red Devils’ win over the Baggies. Ferdinand might return in time to face Arsenal in the next few weeks but Ferguson has already confirmed that Vidic is out for at least five weeks. With Rafael da Silva missing out on Manchester United’s start of the season due to a shoulder injury, Sir Alex is set to go with a young defensive line against Harry Redknapp’s men.

Manchester United’s manager said in his recent interview, "The team on Monday will be a very young defensive line-up, with Jones and Evans in the centre and Smalling at right-back. But Patrice Evra will be back for Spurs, which gives us experience. I'm not worried about the young players filling in at the back. Evans has ample experience, of course, and has been at the club since he was 12 years old. He's played plenty of first-team games.” He added, “Phil Jones has the experience of playing for Blackburn last season in the Barclays Premier League and I thought he and Chris Smalling were the stars for England Under-21s in the summer. Chris had a fantastic first season and he's continued his progress this year.”

FA Premier League| Matchday 1: West Brom 1-2 Manchester United

Champions recover from De Gea error as Ashley Young forces late own goal to settle entertaining clash. Red Devils count the cost of victory as both Ferdinand and Vidic limp off injured, but will be pleased with late winner after Long had equalised after early opener from Rooney

Ashley Young forced a late own goal to ensure Manchester United started the defence of their Premier League title with a hard-fought 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion. Wayne Rooney had fired the visitors into an early lead at the Hawthorns with a well-placed left-footed shot from the edge of the area, but new signing Shane Long equalised for the Baggies just before half-time courtesy of a bad mistake from goalkeeper David de Gea.

But as the game reached the final 10 minutes, a driving run and shot across the goalmouth from Young forced an own goal from Steven Reid and sealed three points for United after a tough afternoon.The result in their first game is a welcome boost given the champions' poor away form last season and the fact title rivals Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all dropped points on the opening weekend.

Roy Hodgson handed debuts to former Manchester United keeper Ben Foster and Republic of Ireland international Long, who was signed from Reading during the week, while striker Peter Odemwingie failed to recover from an ankle problem in time to play. The visitors handed first Premier League starts for the Old Trafford side to summer signings De Gea and Young, while Tom Cleverley and Danny Welback started after returning from loan spells at Wigan and Sunderland respectively and impressing in last week's Community Shield. Patrice Evra, Javier Hernandez, Darren Fletcher and Antonio Valencia were all absentees for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, while Dimitar Berbatov, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Park Ji-Sung all were forced to settle for places on the bench along with new central defensive signing Phil Jones, who arrived from Blackburn during the summer.

Last season’s champions started off the brightest, with Young exploiting the left wing, supported by Fabio, as the former Aston Villa winger looked to get off the mark for his new employers But rather than becoming goalscorer, Young became the creator just after the 10 minute mark as he was found by fellow England international Rooney as he broke the West Brom offside trap of the left wing. He in turn repaid the compliment to the Manchester United striker, giving him the ball just outside the area, before Rooney turned and superbly shot beyond Foster’s outstretched hand and into the bottom corner with his left foot.

Manchester United should have gone two ahead as a top quality passing move involving Welback and Rooney cut open the West Brom defence, before the latter found Nani wide open in the Baggies penalty area. However, unfortunately for the Portuguese winger, his shot was high and ended up with home fans behind the goal. The winger then had another golden opportunity minutes later, after Foster failed to properly deal with a Young corner from the left wing, allowing Nani to receive the ball on the penalty spot, but once again it was the same outcome for the 24-year-old as his strike went over the bar, although this time he had been under more pressure from onrushing defenders.

With time running out in the half, United’s new keeper De Gea was forced into his first piece of real action as a long ball arrived at the feet of Long and he found the onrushing Paul Scharner, who rifled a shot that was palmed away for a corner by the Spanish shot stopper. But a minute later, De Gea was left which his head in his hands and his team-mates questioning him as Long received the ball on the left before beating United right-back Chris Smalling and hitting a shot towards the back post which crept through the keeper’s hands and into the net. The keeper’s confidence seemed to be dented by the error, as firstly Chris Brunt came close, then De Gea was forced to clear a Somen Tchoyi cross which almost crept in at the far post before he was just able to tip it to safety

Five minutes after the start of the second half, the visitors were forced into a change as captain Nemanja Vidic was forced to limp from the field with an injury that he picked up earlier in the game, to be replaced by Jonny Evans in the centre of the defence. United were dominating possession, but failing to find a way past the West Brom defence or Foster in the Baggies goal, so Sir Alex Ferguson decided to make a change to his frontline, taking off Welback and replacing him with Dimitar Berbatov in an attempt to claim all three points.

The home fans were starting to become frustrated with referee Mike Jones and his two assistants as they felt that they were not receiving the rub of the green when it came to certain incidents, such as when a Long shot seemed to be deflected for a corner, but Jones deemed it to be a goal-kick. With just over a quarter of an hour left the visitors were to change their second centre-half of the day as Rio Ferdinand limped off with what seemed to be hamstring injury to be replaced by Jones in a new-look United defence.With just over 10 minutes left, De Gea’s uncertainty crept back into the game as a free-kick from the right wing arrived at the back post and once again the Spanish shot stopper looked fragile as he failed to prevent the ball going out for a corner.

United finally claimed a winner on 81 minutes as impressive new signing Young raced in from the left wing and his cross-goal shot was touched on by Gabriel Tamas and lastly deflected off Steven Reid, before finding the bottom left-hand corner of Foster’s net. The visiting defence managed to stay solid for the remainder of the game, protecting their under pressure keeper De Gea at all costs to secure a valuable three away points, which gives them a strong start to the season after their rivals' dropped points.

Michael Carrick vows to ‘embrace’ competition for places: That's what this club is all about

England midfielder thinks youngsters Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley have bright futures ahead of them and believes team will adapt after losing Paul Scholes and Edwin Van der Sar



Michael Carrick is looking forward to fighting for his place in the Manchester United team this season. Sir Alex Ferguson has added Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David de Gea to the Red Devils squad, as well Pursuing a move for Inter star Wesley Sneijder, to bolster competition at United.

"I'm not fearful of that at all, I embrace it," Carrick told Sky Sports News. "That's what this club is all about.

"It's going to be tough but every season is as tough as each other."It's a clean slate now, we've had a bit of a turn-around with the playing staff and we've got a really young squad now."There's always competition for places here, that's what makes it so great," he continued."You've got to be on top of your game to be playing and that's probably how we've had the success over the years. If you want to be involved you really have to be at your best.

Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley have also returned to mix for the Champions after successful loan spells at Sunderland and Wigan respectively and Carrick believes young players coming through the ranks is only good for the club.

"It's great to see the young lads coming through. I really enjoy seeing the young lads progressing and getting a chance in the first team."Danny [Welbeck] did really well at the weekend and so did Tom, so it certainly bodes well for the future. They'll be chomping at the bit to get a lot of football this season."

Carrick believes Cleverley in particular has a bright future ahead of him after receiving his first England call-up to the squad that was due to play Holland on Wednesday.He added: "He's a big talent, but not only that, mentally he's spot on. His attitude's first class."He listens, he works hard and his only focus is football and how to improve. He's a got a massive chance of being one of the best."

The England midfielder thinks the loss of Paul Scholes will not affect United too badly as they will adapt to the changes like they have done in the past."It's not so much replacing him, you've just got to move on and adapt," he continued. "We've done it over the years."When Cristiano Ronaldo left three years ago, everyone said 'how do you replace him?' but we didn't replace him like-for-like, we moved on and adapted, and were still successful. That's the aim."Losing players like Scholesy, Gary Neville and Edwin van der Sar, you just have to adapt. Players come in and stamp their own authority and personality within the team and the squad, and we look to move forward."

Danny Welbeck vows to fight for place: My aim is to break into the team

The young England international, who spent last season on loan at Sunderland, has expressed his determination to make the grade and work alongside his more experienced team-mates

Danny Welbeck is one of many choices Sir Alex Ferguson has to start alongside up front for Manchester United, and the youngster has vowed to come out on top.The Red Devils boss has seven forwards after the return of Welbeck, Federico Macheda and Mame Biram Diouf from their loan spells, while Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen are also competing for a spot.

Welbeck told reporters: “My aim is to break into the team, get minutes on the pitch and get a partnership going with whoever is up front. ”Welbeck participated in the Community Shield victory over Manchester City and received an England call-up.