Sir Alex said before the game that he would happily take a 1-0 victory in this Champions League semi-final, first leg. And United can take heart from an outstanding display of vigour and verve. But after the mauling Arsenal received, the Reds boss can surely only conclude that the winning margin should have been greater.
Right from the off United’s players, backed by an absolutely incredible support, were revved up and right in the faces of the beleaguered Gunners. Carlos Tevez was rewarded for his match-changing second-half display against Tottenham at the weekend with a place in the starting line-up – and he played like he had a statement to make.
Sir Alex’s team selection suggested speed and energy were of the essence. And, spurred on by a fired-up Old Trafford crowd, the Reds made a blistering start, with Wayne Rooney forcing an excellent save from Manuel Almunia after just two minutes. Then Cristiano Ronaldo flashed a cross-shot across the face of goal. It was upbeat and high-tempo stuff, as expected. But Arsenal were nowhere to be seen early on against the hungry-looking Reds.
Tevez was snap-at-your ankles enthusiastic, Ronaldo and Rooney both looked lively and Darren Fletcher maintained his excellent recent form in the heart of midfield. For Arsenal, away from home and with Emmanuel Adebayor up front on his own, theirs was always bound to be a more patient approach. But even when their first spell of possession eventually arrived, they were booed and barracked into submission.
United pressed on and after 16 minutes Almunia again came to Arsenal’s rescue. A brilliant interchange from Tevez and Ronaldo saw the ball worked out wide to John O’Shea, and the Irishman’s cross found Tevez’s run, but his shot was stopped at point-blank range by Almunia.
United were soon rewarded, however, in the form of the most unlikely hero: O'Shea. Carrick was lurking at the back post from the resulting corner, and his deflected pull-back found the Reds right-back six yards out and he thumped the ball home. As if the noise levels weren’t loud enough, the deafening celebrations carried far into the Manchester night. And there was barely an opportunity to catch your breath as the Reds went in search of a second.
Arsenal’s first attempt came just before the half-hour mark when Cesc Fabregas’ low shot was well held by van der Sar, but other than a five-minute spell of possession towards the end of the half, that was largely it.
Seconds after Fabregas’ effort, Almunia was called upon again; Tevez scampered down the right wing, skinned Kieran Gibbs and crossed for Ronaldo, whose powerful header was palmed away by Arsenal’s Spanish stopper. Moments later he denied Ronaldo again, this time a curled shot from the edge of the area. Were it not for Almunia, this tie could have been out of sight inside the first half.
United's frenetic tempo naturally dropped in the second half, Arsenal certainly had more of the ball than they had in the opening 45 minutes. The danger for United was that a quick Arsenal counter attack could yield that prized possession: an away goal. Adebayor went close just after the hour with a arcing volley from 30 yards out, but fortunately it went over. It was, if nothing else, a warning.
decided on a change with 20 minutes to go, replacing Tevez with Dimitar Berbatov, and Anderson with Ryan Giggs, remarkably making his 800th appearance. Tevez shook his head in disappointment at the decision – a gesture that may or may not be over analysed in the press, but in reality it was natural of any player withdrawn from such a high-profile and enthralling game.
Shortly after the swap, Ronaldo sent a rasping 30-yard shot crashing off the bar, then minutes later an effort from Carrick fizzed wide; Sir Alex must have been scratching his head with bemusement as to how his side were not more than a goal to the good.
The baying Old Trafford crowd sensed Arsenal's vulnerability and mercilessly shouted: 'attack, attack, attack'. United did just that, and Giggs had the ball in the back of the net on 78 minutes, but he was flagged offside. It was a tight call that won little home approval - largely because the officials gave very little United's way all night - but on this occasion they probably got it right.
Arsenal may see containing a rampant United as their main plus point – and they have much to thank Almunia for – but if the Reds play anything like this in North London next week, a trip to Rome surely awaits. This was a job well done, but only half done.
It's not over
The Reds boss admitted United could have all but booked a place in Rome’s final next month, but instead he’ll settle for a slender but certainly advantageous lead at the halfway point.
“Of course you have to be disappointed that we didn’t take more of our chances,” he told reporters. “The goalkeeper [Manuel Almunia] made three fantastic saves. But the pleasing aspect for me was that we said before the game we wanted to score and not concede. We’ve done that.
“The performance level was very good and we have given ourselves a good chance of getting to the final. The tie isn’t over, of course, but we have the players who can score a goal, and we will be a big goal threat at the Emirates.
“We did very well with some terrific play at times. But it was reminiscent of the FA Cup final we had against Arsenal in 2005, where they won on penalty kicks after we’d had so many chances… at least we scored this time! And we haven’t lost an away goal, that is the key to it all.”
Sir Alex wants to see a similarly colossal defensive display at the Emirates – although United may have to do that without Rio Ferdinand, who sustained a rib injury. “Arsenal had possession, without really doing anything. They had a half chance from [Niklas] Bendtner’s header, but otherwise we contained them very well. That’s credit to our defending. When we concentrate, we can produce excellent performances like that. We need that to get through this tie, but I think we can also score.”
The Reds boss has promised a cracker at Old Trafford, but only his team kept up that part of the bargain. Arsene Wenger vowed that the world would see a different Arsenal in six days’ time. That may be the case, but United are ready to go the distance if necessary.
“Arsenal have to be [different next Tuesday],” added Sir Alex. “Arsene will be thinking it was a good day for him. They could have been out of the tie, but they’re not. The other way to look at it is that we tend to do things the hard way, and tonight we perhaps frustrated our fans where we should maybe be in the final, but we’re not. That’s the nature of this club, we’ve done it many times. We did it in the last round, and we might need to go right to the wire again.”
“Of course you have to be disappointed that we didn’t take more of our chances,” he told reporters. “The goalkeeper [Manuel Almunia] made three fantastic saves. But the pleasing aspect for me was that we said before the game we wanted to score and not concede. We’ve done that.
“The performance level was very good and we have given ourselves a good chance of getting to the final. The tie isn’t over, of course, but we have the players who can score a goal, and we will be a big goal threat at the Emirates.
“We did very well with some terrific play at times. But it was reminiscent of the FA Cup final we had against Arsenal in 2005, where they won on penalty kicks after we’d had so many chances… at least we scored this time! And we haven’t lost an away goal, that is the key to it all.”
Sir Alex wants to see a similarly colossal defensive display at the Emirates – although United may have to do that without Rio Ferdinand, who sustained a rib injury. “Arsenal had possession, without really doing anything. They had a half chance from [Niklas] Bendtner’s header, but otherwise we contained them very well. That’s credit to our defending. When we concentrate, we can produce excellent performances like that. We need that to get through this tie, but I think we can also score.”
The Reds boss has promised a cracker at Old Trafford, but only his team kept up that part of the bargain. Arsene Wenger vowed that the world would see a different Arsenal in six days’ time. That may be the case, but United are ready to go the distance if necessary.
“Arsenal have to be [different next Tuesday],” added Sir Alex. “Arsene will be thinking it was a good day for him. They could have been out of the tie, but they’re not. The other way to look at it is that we tend to do things the hard way, and tonight we perhaps frustrated our fans where we should maybe be in the final, but we’re not. That’s the nature of this club, we’ve done it many times. We did it in the last round, and we might need to go right to the wire again.”
Rio rib injury
The centre-half left the field a few minutes before the end of the European champions' 1-0 victory, having taken a blow to his torso as the Gunners pressed unsuccessfully for an equaliser.
Ferdinand sustained the injury in a ruck of players when Arsenal substitute Nicklas Bendtner headed over from a Cesc Fabregas free-kick, the nearest the visitors came to breaching the Reds' rock-solid back line.
"Rio got a crack right on the ribs and we hope there’s nothing broken," said Sir Alex Ferguson.
"If you get a rib injury, you could be out for two to three weeks maybe. We just have to wait for the (hospital) results obviously."
Jonny Evans came on for Rio to help the Reds complete a priceless clean sheet and the young Irishman is now set to deputise for at least Saturday's league game at Middlesbrough.
Ferdinand sustained the injury in a ruck of players when Arsenal substitute Nicklas Bendtner headed over from a Cesc Fabregas free-kick, the nearest the visitors came to breaching the Reds' rock-solid back line.
"Rio got a crack right on the ribs and we hope there’s nothing broken," said Sir Alex Ferguson.
"If you get a rib injury, you could be out for two to three weeks maybe. We just have to wait for the (hospital) results obviously."
Jonny Evans came on for Rio to help the Reds complete a priceless clean sheet and the young Irishman is now set to deputise for at least Saturday's league game at Middlesbrough.
John O'Shea's reprisal of the unlikely hero's role came at a timely moment for himself
The Irishman said his dad was uppermost in his thoughts after he scored United's winning goal against Arsenal, on the eve of his 28th birthday.
"It’s a little early birthday present for me but I have to dedicate that one to my dad," O'Shea told Sky Sports. "He’s been having a tough time of late, I’m sure this will cheer him up a bit."
The goal also brought cheer to more than 75,000 fans inside Old Trafford, not to mention millions of Reds around the world following the riveting Champions League semi-final. But the masses may share O'Shea's feeling that United should have won by more.
"On our first half display, we could have been a couple more goals up," said O'Shea. "Their keeper made a couple of great saves. We have a lead, we’ve kept a clean sheet and we know we’re capable of scoring an away goal at the Emirates. But the tie's definitely not over."
O'Shea believes a game-plan paid dividends for United, specifically the tactic "to squeeze high up the pitch as much as we could, just to keep the pressure on Arsenal and hopefully win the ball back to play from there.
"It worked very well, especially in the first half and sometimes in the second half. But Arsenal are a good team, they kept the ball well at times and it’s hard to get it back from them. I think in the second leg we need to improve our retaining possession but over all we have to be happy."
Sir Alex Ferguson praised the Irishman's attitude and even went as far as to promise him a place in the starting line-up should United make the final in Rome. "John is one of the great professionals of our time," said the boss. "He never complains and he’s happy to play anywhere. He knows that, over the years, he has not always been the number one choice.
"But he will produce some fantastic performances over the course of the season, and that is a contribution we are very grateful for. Those contributions have been left-back, centre-back, right-back and midfield… he is so versatile and can play in a lot of positions. That is his great value to us.
"He took the goal really well. The ball deflected off an Arsenal defender and he had to react quickly, and it was a good controlled shot. This season he has not missed many games. Now if you asked me whether he would play if we were in the final, I would say yes."
"It’s a little early birthday present for me but I have to dedicate that one to my dad," O'Shea told Sky Sports. "He’s been having a tough time of late, I’m sure this will cheer him up a bit."
The goal also brought cheer to more than 75,000 fans inside Old Trafford, not to mention millions of Reds around the world following the riveting Champions League semi-final. But the masses may share O'Shea's feeling that United should have won by more.
"On our first half display, we could have been a couple more goals up," said O'Shea. "Their keeper made a couple of great saves. We have a lead, we’ve kept a clean sheet and we know we’re capable of scoring an away goal at the Emirates. But the tie's definitely not over."
O'Shea believes a game-plan paid dividends for United, specifically the tactic "to squeeze high up the pitch as much as we could, just to keep the pressure on Arsenal and hopefully win the ball back to play from there.
"It worked very well, especially in the first half and sometimes in the second half. But Arsenal are a good team, they kept the ball well at times and it’s hard to get it back from them. I think in the second leg we need to improve our retaining possession but over all we have to be happy."
Sir Alex Ferguson praised the Irishman's attitude and even went as far as to promise him a place in the starting line-up should United make the final in Rome. "John is one of the great professionals of our time," said the boss. "He never complains and he’s happy to play anywhere. He knows that, over the years, he has not always been the number one choice.
"But he will produce some fantastic performances over the course of the season, and that is a contribution we are very grateful for. Those contributions have been left-back, centre-back, right-back and midfield… he is so versatile and can play in a lot of positions. That is his great value to us.
"He took the goal really well. The ball deflected off an Arsenal defender and he had to react quickly, and it was a good controlled shot. This season he has not missed many games. Now if you asked me whether he would play if we were in the final, I would say yes."
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