Man United 2 - Arsenal 1

Tonight Manchester United will entertain Arsenal at Old Trafford for one of the biggest and most crucial games of the season. United will need to win this game to continue their momentum and increase their goal difference, while Arsenal also needs a victory to keep up the chase for Premiership honours.

I very proudly wore my long sleeved United shirt with the Vodaphone logo on the front. Adriana and Alyssa were puzzled to see me wear this shirt and escorted me to the front door. I gave them their goodnight hug and kisses and made my way to Syed Bistro at 1020pm, with the game scheduled to kick-off at 1100pm. While waiting for the game to start, I turned my attention to the latest issue of the Harakah, for some interesting and thought provoking political news. My table was on the third row, which gave an elevated view of the 40'' TV. Zafri came by just before kick-off.

The first half was a nervy affair, with both teams testing each others defense, however, Arsenal was the more lively with tries that made van der Sar make some crucial saves. Jens Lehmann had a relatively quiet first half due to the creative power of the wonder kid Fabregas. Hleb, van Persie and Adebayor caused United's defense some scary moments but van der Saar showed his sheer class by keeping things tidy. Only a single lapse of concentration by Ferdinand gave Adebayor the space to squeeze into the 6 yard line and head in Arsenal's first goal. 0 - 1

United went on the counter offensive right after the restart and their industriousness is rewarded when William Gallas gave away a penalty for a handball offense. Who else by Ronaldo stepped up to take the penalty, but when he paused in mid-stride, Park was too eager to latch on to the rebound and caused the referee to blow the whistle for Ronaldo to retake the penalty. He didn't make a mess of it and blasted the ball in the bottom right corner of the goal, leaving Lehmann grasping thin air!! 1 - 1

After half-time, Ferguson made a tactical change by taking off Park Ji-Sung (who had an excellent game) and Paul Scholes, and replacing them with Anderson and Carlos Tevez. The fresh players made an instant impact by causing Arsenal to fall back and defend in numbers. The United midfield began to stamp their mark and made some interesting and dangerous forays into Arsenal's half. One of these attacks caused Gilberto to commit a foul right outside their penalty box, giving a free kick to United. Christiano Ronaldo stood over the ball with Owen Hargreaves, and when everyone was expecting a Ronaldo Special to thunder past the wall, Hargreaves took the free kick with an excellent curling shot that went straight into the bottom right side of Lehmann's goal, leaving him rooted to the ground. 2 - 1

With 4 minutes of injury time added on, Arsenal made their substitution by taking off van Persie and Toure, and putting on Bendtner and Walcott who immediately made an impact with some close shaves. However, van der Saar made some miraculous saves off his goal line and the score stayed the same till the end.

I promptly shared the score with Mus, Buzz, Syaril and Anderson but they didn't share my joy. (sore loosers!!!). That night I must have slept like a baby.......zzzzz