Harrowed / The ignominy of 4–0 to United

FA CUP, ROUND 4 / MANCHESTER UNITED 4 – 0 ARSENAL

It was a clash everyone had been waiting for, two teams that have been in irresistible form, and setting the pace in the Premiership were meeting way too early in the FA Cup.

Both rested players for upcoming Champions League ties mid-week. United left Ronaldo out and we kept Adebayor on the bench. But as the teams lined-up Arsenal seemed to edge toward a more attacking formation. 90 minutes later, we stood dishonored, and you can read the match reports to know how that happened.

There were two instances which really stung — one when the United faithful chanted 'ole' as their boys passed the ball around while they were three ahead. And two, when Nani, whom I wholly detest, ran yards while bouncing the ball on his head and then further flicking it in the air with his foot, with an embarrassed Arsenal skipper biting at his heels.

I''ll stick with drawing some positives in the face of this humiliation:
1. We can concentrate on the two real prizes this year. Winning the Premier League is paramount and if it means exiting the FA Cup early, I am for it. Our squad depth is way lower than other top sides, and its nice to know we have "no more injuries" as AW said post match. He also said we were "beaten everywhere" but let's not go there.
2. The pecking order is settled, Lehman knows now why he is number 2, and if he still doesn't, someone please tell him. I thought his kicking and decision-making were woeful and he could have stopped Nani's 38th minute strike — that was the one that really killed us off.
3. It is clear, if it was not already, Adebayor is the spearhead. Even when he is not scoring, we need him to hassle the shit out of the opposing defense. Wenger took a chance with Bendtner and Eduardo up front, and that will not happen in another important tie. Not this year.

Positives aside, we take on the immovable object — AC Milan at the Emirates — in the first knock-out round of the Champions League on Wednesday night. Another hugely anticipated tie. But right now, I am just a little worried about the mental make-up of our irresistible force.