Wenger and Moyes in crisis as Arsenal host Man United

LONDON

Manchester United’s Robin van Persie vies with Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny (left) and Bacary Sagna during their English Premier League match at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester in November. [PHOTO: AFP]

Arsenal and Manchester United will be out to make amends after a weekend of damaging results when they meet at The Emirates in the Premier League tonight.

Arsenal lost top spot in the league after a 5-1 humiliation by a rampant Liverpool at Anfield, with their previously much-praised defence being torn to shreds as they conceded four goals in the first 20 minutes.

Manager Arsene Wenger called the performance “feeble”, and will be hopeful the defeat won’t signal the end of Arsenal’s title hopes as they face a run of matches taking on United, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Manchester City and Everton by early March.

Defender Per Mertesacker admitted the loss was a major setback, but called on Arsenal to summon the spirit they showed after December’s 6-3 loss to Manchester City, when they went on to win six of their next eight matches.

“We feel very bad at the moment, disappointed with our performance right from the start,” the German told the club website (www.arsenal.com).

“It was just not good enough to compete at that level. Liverpool seemed full of confidence. At the start we were eight points clear of Liverpool so we should have been more confident and more aware of the situation but that wasn’t the case.

“We have the opportunity to respond quickly on Wednesday and we have to remind ourselves what we have done from Man City until now. That is at stake and to show that responsibility for ourselves and for the pride of our club.”

David Moyes admitted his first season at Old Trafford had hit a new low after United conceded an injury time goal to Darren Bent salvaged a 2-2 draw for bottom club Fulham on Sunday, despite the hosts dominating possession and sending in a remarkable 81 crosses.

United are seventh, 15 points behind leaders Chelsea and nine off Liverpool in the final Champions League qualification spot, and are fast running out of time to salvage their season.

“We have to win all our games,” Moyes told the club website (www.manutd.com).

“You can ask me as many times as you like but I’ll keep saying that we have to win all our games. We should have won that one (against Fulham) and we needed to as well.

“We’ve just got to go into the next game. That’s what happens, you take the team on and you challenge them and we’ve got some good players here. I don’t think there’ll be many teams keen to take on Manchester United.”

Fifth-placed Spurs will be looking to remain in the hunt for a Champions League spot when they travel to Newcastle, without a win in three matches today, while Fulham are the next side in Liverpool’s sights after their Arsenal thrash.

Captain Steven Gerrard warned the result would count for little if they don’t produce against Fulham today.

“We aren’t going to look back at the end of the season and think ‘How good were we against Arsenal?’ if we never got (into) the top four,” he said.

“We can enjoy this but we have got to move on quickly and try to get three points against Fulham.”

Meanwhile, Everton on loan striker Romelu Lukaku wants to return to Chelsea next season to play in the Champions League but says his future depends on what manager Jose Mourinho thinks about his ability, the striker said in an interview published on Tuesday.

“I’m turning 21, I’ve been a professional for five years already. It is time,” he said in Tuesday’s edition of the Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws.

“It is high time I played in the Champions League. It is the next step I need in my development. I still have two years on my contract and I know Chelsea follow my development. In the end it depends on what the manager thinks about me.”

— Reuters