Despite inconsistency, United are still the team to beat

Manchester United drew 2-2 with Cardiff over the weekend. Two weeks ago, they were celebrating victory over Arsenal, the same Arsenal who lost on opening day to an Aston Villa side that has since gone on – like Cardiff – to add Manchester City to their list of scalps this season. Before the European Championships in 2012, the Premier League for a long time was a two-horse race, but the two steeds that would compete for the trophy had already been established by the time November had come around. That’s not been the case this time around because this season has proved that everybody can beat everybody else. Take the example of United’s 1-0 win over Arsenal. Even before Arsenal succumbed to Robin van Persie’s goal at the Theatre of Dreams on Sunday night, those who had a relatively clear picture of events regarding potential title winners had said that Arsenal’s chances of winning the Barclays Premier League title would hinge around how they performed away from home. Fans and supporters waxed lyrical of Arsenal’s ability to challenge for the title before Sunday evening came around. They had every reason to. But van Persie, the man who was hailed as an Arsenal man through and through by Arsene Wenger, ensured that the belief that had been steadily spreading through the Manchester United faithful blazed forth stronger than it ever had all season. [caption id=“attachment_1251581” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Evra celebrates after scoring against Cardiff. Getty Images[/caption] There was good reason for this belief, because with United’s win over Arsenal, the Red Devils hammered home the point that despite the changes sweeping through the Premier League as clubs and managers alike vie to fill the vacuum that has been left since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, United are still very much there, and they will continue to stand up and be counted. On the surface, for both sides, it was not just a 1-0 win. It was about so much more than that. For United, it was a signalling of the times that David Moyes’ bedding-in period was approaching its end. It was a signal to the rest of the Premier League that the inconsistency that had dogged United’s wobbly start to the season was at and end. Because Manchester United are the Premier League’s best ever side, there will always be a very large number of football fans who would want the Red Devils to fail. Moyes had fed their vicarious pleasures for a good two months, but now there will most likely be little of that to be had. Managers up and down the country had been calling for those who judged the former Everton manager to give him more time. Stepping into the shoes of someone as great as Sir Alex Ferguson – the likes of whom the Premier League has never seen and probably will never see again – was never going to be easy, irrespective of who was nominated to fill the Old Trafford hot seat and Moyes has proved in a remarkably short space of time that he is indeed the man to manage a club as great as Manchester United. United had one of the toughest starts to life under Moyes, travelling to Manchester City and Liverpool and returning empty-handed to Old Trafford before gaining only a point at home to Chelsea. That Moyes’ orientation came at the Theatre of Dreams will only make him a stronger, better manager as the season progresses. At Everton, one of the hallmarks of the Moyes method of playing was a watertight defence. It may have not always worked, but given the obvious increment in quality of the players at United, that has already begun to pay dividends here. The presence of Phil Jones in midfield and later at the back only underlined that. Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans combined spectacularly well to keep out the talented Arsenal vanguard. Sir Alex’s method of defending in the last few minutes was to commit to an all-out attack, because that would throw a spanner in the works of his opponents, but under Moyes, everybody helped out at the back. Wayne Rooney was one of United’s hardest workers on the pitch and you’d see him clearing probing passes from the Gunners as often as you would see him at the other end of the pitch. In Spain, fans of Real Madrid and Barcelona expect the Primera Liga title to end up at either the Santiago Bernabeu or the Nou Camp: that is a title that is often taken for granted, and additional silverware is always warmly welcomed. Managers of the two great clubs however are also judged by the club’s supporters on how well they do against their bitter rivals. It may not be as clear-cut in the Premiership, but there is only one alpha-dog in England at the moment and whoever successfully overthrows it will need to consistently face and beat Manchester United at Old Trafford: no easy task for any manager. But if there was one team capable of doing that this season, it looked to be Arsenal, and had they not suffered from what I would like to call ‘mitigating circumstances’, some might call them ‘excuses’, others might call them ‘reasons’, they could have returned to the Emirates Stadium with three points and a very comfortable cushion to fall back on as they entered the international break. They have however, put the loss to United at the back of their minds with a comfortable win against Southampton. It has been well-documented that Arsenal’s current list of fixtures requires players to give it their all week-in, week-out if they are to get maximum points, and to a large extent, the Gunners did do that. That home defeat to Chelsea would not have mattered much to Arsene Wenger because the Capital One Cup is never regarded as a serious tournament by the big boys of the league, but what was important was the manner in which they bounced back against Crystal Palace. Liverpool emerged as frontrunners alongside Arsenal in the Premier League’s nascent foundations and what would’ve been more important to Wenger was putting daylight between themselves and their closest competitors. All this only adds spice to the Premier League, which once again is proving to the world why it is the world’s most watched league. The Primera Liga will either end up at the Santiago Bernabeu or the Nou Camp, the Bundesliga title favourites will be Bayern Munich and they will be challenged by a host of other clubs. Serie A will always be the prerogative of the grand old Italian sides and Ligue 1 will now be contested by Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain, with the likes of Lyon and Marseille having a say in who does what. Not so in the Premier League, where Arsene Wenger would have looked at that defeat and wonder what would have been the outcome if his team still wasn’t suffering from the aftershocks of the 8-2 humiliation they suffered there two years ago. Insofar as squad depth is concerned, the Gunners will expect all those who are currently out of commission to return to the fold, which can only bode well for the team. That will however mean little to United, who have every reason to be delighted, having brought the Premier League leaders down to earth — despite them succumbing to a tame draw in the game after. This season has proved that everybody can beat everybody else in the league and it makes for some very interesting football. But as Wenger said, those who win at Old Trafford normally go on to win the league. And anyone who does challenge for the title will very likely have to do that.