Arsene Wenger has vowed to wreck Manchester United’s plans for a Premier League title party at Old Trafford on Saturday.

United need just a point from their lunchtime meeting with the Gunners to wrap up a third consecutive league triumph and equal Liverpool’s record of 18 English titles.

But Wenger insists his players will be determined to delay the celebrations and claim revenge for their Champions League semi-final defeat by United, which led many to question the Frenchman’s reliance on his homegrown youngsters.

“We have a very promising team who can deliver very soon,” Wenger claimed Thursday. “If you look at the statistics of the two teams, we have scored a similar amount of goals. In the passing quality in the final third and in the opposition half, we are as good as Manchester United.

“We have conceded more goals and that is where the difference lies; we have conceded 36, they have conceded 24, we have scored 64, they have scored 67.

“Offensively, I do not believe there is a difference. Defensively, there was a difference.”

Even if they lose to Arsenal, United will still be champions if they pick up a point at struggling Hull on the final day of the season or if Liverpool drop any points in their two remaining matches, away to West Brom and at home to Tottenham.

“It looks like it will be Manchester United, but we can still delay it,” Wenger added. “We have a point to prove, definitely.

“We want to play for our pride and be respected for who we are, that is people who love the game they play. We promised ourselves on January 1 we would give everything in every game until the end of the season.

“That is where we can show we are capable to do that.”

Despite his faith in his own squad, Wenger acknowledges that United deserve to be on top. “The 18-point gap (between United and Arsenal) is a reflection we have to take on the chin,” he said. “What people forget is that we were very far behind and we dropped too many points.

“Manchester United are world champions, European champions and will be champions of England. Everybody has to cope with that, not accept it and come back next year and beat them.”

Manchester United FC are just one step away from becoming the first club to retain the UEFA Champions League trophy after inflicting a crushing 3-1 defeat on Arsenal FC to book their passage to the final.

No way back
Arsenal’s hopes effectively vanished inside the opening eleven minutes after first Ji-Sung Park, capitalising on a slip by Kieran Gibbs, and then Cristiano Ronaldo, catching Manuel Almunia out with a free-kick, struck for United. Trailing 3-0 on aggregate there was no way back for the demoralised home side and Ronaldo salted their wounds with the evening’s third goal just after the hour. The only downside for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team was the dismissal of Darren Fletcher, who will now miss the final, for fouling Cesc Fàbregas to concede the penalty from which Robin van Persie struck Arsenal’s futile late reply.

Blue the colour
The Arsenal Stadium was awash with swirling red and white flags before kick-off but blue proved the colour here, United winning in the same all-blue they wore when lifting the European crown for the first time at Wembley in 1968. A short distance across north London they left their fans dreaming of a fourth triumph on 27 May after shattering Arsenal’s five-year unbeaten home record in Europe. They did so in style although there is no doubt Arsenal lent a helping hand, pressing the self-destruct button by presenting United with the all-important first goal here. There seemed no danger as Ronaldo’s low ball headed towards Gibbs but the teenager slipped and allowed the ball to run on to Park who, though off balance, lifted it over Almunia.

Ronaldo Leads Ruthless United to Rome … read more »

Arsène Wenger is backing his Arsenal FC team to deliver the “magnificent performance” required to overturn their 1-0 deficit against Manchester United FC and book a place in the final of the UEFA Champions League.

‘We can do it’
The Frenchman cited his side’s 24-match, five-year unbeaten run at home in the competition as he underlined his conviction they could eliminate the holders and earn a ticket to Rome. “I am very confident that the team will produce a magnificent performance and that we will [qualify],” he said. “We are playing a home game where we have a very strong record in the Champions League. For many people we are outsiders but I believe we can do it.”

Reason to believe
Arsenal defeated United 2-1 when the teams met in north London in November and Wenger added: “There is no mission impossible for us. It wouldn’t change my belief even if they scored.” While Wenger can draw encouragement from the fact Arsenal have not conceded a home goal in the UEFA Champions League this term – and just two in their 13 home games played in 2009 – United arrived in the capital with their own reasons to believe, having never failed to score on their three previous visits to the new Arsenal Stadium.

‘No Mission Impossible’ For Wenger’s Arsenal … read more »

A clinical display of attacking football took Arsenal FC into the UEFA Champions League semi-finals for the second time in their history at the expense of ten-man Villarreal CF.

Dominant display
Arsenal’s success in this competition has been founded on their solid defence, which is still to concede in five home matches in the competition this season, although it was their prowess at the other end which proved too much for the visitors. Having taken the initiative in the tie with last week’s 1-1 draw in Spain, well-worked goals early in each half from Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Adebayor put the home team in complete command, Robin van Persie adding a third from the penalty spot after Sebastián Eguren had been dismissed.

Walcott chip
Arsenal came into the match on the back of an 18-match Premier League unbeaten run and perhaps inevitably their early play carried an air of considerable confidence with Cesc Fàbregas, Walcott and Van Persie all prominent. Walcott sent one dangerous centre across the face of goal before Van Persie nodded Samir Nasri’s cross over, but the visitors failed to heed the warning signs and duly fell behind in the tenth minute. Fàbregas applied the faintest of touches to Emmanuel Eboué’s pass yet it was nevertheless enough to wrong foot the Villarreal defence, leaving Walcott to race clear and beat Diego López with a sublime chip.

On-fire Gunners Shoot Down Villarreal … read more »

Emmanuel Adebayor’s brilliant overhead effort cancelled out an equally spectacular strike from Marcos Senna to put Arsenal FC in a strong position in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Villarreal CF.

Stunning strikes
The Spanish side, keen to erase the memories of their semi-final defeat against these opponents three years ago, started at quickfire pace and took the lead ten minutes in, Senna unleashing an unstoppable drive from 25 metres. Arsenal lost goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and William Gallas to injury before the first half was over, but for the third time in as many meetings the Yellow Submarine could not quite impose themselves on the Gunners, Adebayor’s instinctive effort midway through the second period giving the visitors a priceless away goal to take into next week’s return in north London.

Fine opener
Villarreal were quickly into their stride and soon claimed a goal which would have been fit to win the tournament itself, Giuseppe Rossi drawing sufficient attention to give his captain time and space to collect his short pass. Senna had not scored for more than five months but his aim was unerring, a lethal right-root shot finding the top corner of the net. Almunia was blameless then but his evening was to deteriorate further as, having damaged his right ankle in an early challenge with Rossi, he limped off after 28 minutes to be replaced by Łukasz Fabiański for only his second appearance in the competition.

Adebayor Acrobatics Give Arsenal The Edge … read more »