The English Premier League has proven just how popular it is around the world after 1 billion people watched (London) Arsenal VS Manchester United. So many people watched a game which was only an early season league game so it makes you wonder how many billion will watch this season's FA Cup Final. The English Premier League is watched by more people worldwide than any other league, in ANY sport.
This clash of the titans was between the current top two teams in the league. London giants Arsenal have only ever lost once at their Emirates Stadium since it opened at the start of last season.
Frustration for Fergie as Gallas hauls Arsenal out of trouble
By IAN RIDLEY
4th November 2007
Daily Mail
ARSENAL 2-2 MANCHESTER UNITED (Emirates Stadium, London)
Fabregas 48.....................Gallas 45 (Own Goal)
Gallas 90.........................Ronaldo 82
There are many good players who can change games on their day. Then there are the great ones who do it when it is not their day.
Wayne Rooney struggled to impose himself on a tight Arsenal central defence, though grew with the game. Cristiano Ronaldo just could not shake off Gael Clichy for long enough to show off those dancing feet.
Great start: Wayne Rooney, with help from William Gallas, helps United take the lead at the Emirates
Still Rooney did enough to force William Gallas into an own goal, still Ronaldo popped up to score.
Gallas may have redeemed himself with the dramatic last-gasp equaliser in the breathtaking finish to a stupendous contest but when heat of battle died down,and their frustration waned after the late wresting from them of all three points, it should be United who are the happier with the draw.
Arsenal did not quite play with the panache that has shot them to the top of the table. United were never going to allow them to.
But even with manager Arsene Wenger surprisingly cautious in his selection — striker Eduardo on the bench and Emmanuel Adebayor often isolated up front — they showed enough of the lithe movement that enables them to retain possession for long periods and created the clearer chances to make them deserving of the point they salvaged.
Twice they came from behind,the first time with Cesc Fabregas's 11th goal of an already remarkable season, against an efficient United, who rarely hit the attacking heights they showed when scoring four goals in each of their previous four games.
And as important as the point that preserved Arsenal's unbeaten start to the season will be the denial of three which prevented United taking over at the top of the table; just as they held Liverpool at Anfield last Sunday, also retrieving a deficit.
Leveller: Cesc Fabregas tucks away an equaliser at the start of the second half
'Our character was tested twice,' said Wenger. 'People are attracted by our technical ability but there is character and resilience, that is well hidden.'
Sir Alex Ferguson was left to lament the late disappointment.'I can't believe it,' he said.'We have thrown it away.'
No matter the size of the fixture, lunchtime kick-offs have a habit of disappointing, the atmosphere flat with fans still easing themselves into the weekend. With the Emirates ready to rumble and raucous after a monumental build-up to the game all week, there was little danger of anticlimax with this one.
Arsenal sounded intent from the opening whistle. Instead of passing the ball back for someone to hoof forward towards a corner, Alexander Hleb ran at United's defence,past three shocked players before he was dispossessed.
It was an overture to some sweet music and intricate patterns, but without an end product of chances being created, Arsenal understandably a little wary against a team who arrived on the back of eight straight League wins.
Adebayor nipped in between Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic to meet Clichy's cross with a firm header, but wide. Gallas headed Fabregas's freekick goalwards but Edwin van der Sar saved low down.
In between, Arsenal also had a convincing claim for a penalty, Hleb outstripping Vidic on the United right but being tugged back.
With their trademark sweeping passes out of defence, United looked dangerous on the break, though. Carlos Tevez stabbed just wide of the near post from Ryan Giggs' low cross. Giggs himself prodded the ball just wide at the far post from Ronaldo's low cross from the other side.
Net gain: Edwin Van Der Sar is behind the line as Gallas fires home the leveller
Then it came, moments before the interval. Wes Brown rolled a pass to Ronaldo, whose low cross was met at the near post by Rooney. His miscued touch was heading wide until a desperately lunging Gallas diverted it past goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.
Arsenal were clearly instructed by Wenger at the interval to raise the tempo and were level within three minutes. Emmanuel Eboue clipped a ball forward to Adebayor, Van der Sar saving at his feet.
The ball ran loose to Bacary Sagna, however, and from his low cross, Fabregas steered a shot past Ferdinand on the line.
Now it was set up. Once upon a time in English football, both sides would have settled for a draw. But both scented the opportunity to put down an early-season marker and dispirit the other.
Rooney,beginning to fancy being a hero, hit a low shot that Almunia clutched. At the other end, Tomas Rosicky curled a shot wide. It was ebb and flow, cut and thrust.
It looked as if United had won it when substitute Louis Saha found Patrice Evra for a piercing low cross that Ronaldo met emphatically. The whole United bench erupted in unison. But Arsenal plugged away,late goals becoming their speciality. Clichy escaped down the left and swung in a low cross, Gallas missed it but it reached substitute Theo Walcott at the far post. His effort was a poor, miscued shot back across goal but it found Gallas again, Van der Sar only able to intervene after the shot had crossed the line.
With assistant referee Darren Cann spotting it,United had not got the slice of luck that once saw Roy Carroll claw a shot by Tottenham's Pedro Mendes out from behind their goalline.
Still, while failing to hold on to a lead may irk, they should be encouraged at coming away with something without major contributions from their main attacking forces. It will not always be thus.
Arsenal 2-2 Manchester United: The visitors sit back for most of the half before seeing Wayne Rooney's shot go in off William Gallas
The Gunners level in the 48th minute when Fabregas coolly finishes after seeing Emmanuel Adebayor's shot saved
With eight minutes left, Cristiano Ronaldo successfully converts Patrice Evra's cross to put Man Utd in control
Arsenal push forward for an equaliser and get it in injury time courtesy of Gallas whose shot squeezes in to keep them top
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue (Walcott 74), Fabregas, Flamini, Rosicky (Eduardo 80), Hleb (Silva 80), Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Lehmann, Diarra.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown (O'Shea 71), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Anderson (Carrick 76), Hargreaves, Giggs, Tevez (Saha 76), Rooney.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Nani.
----------------------------------------------------------
Attendance: 60,161 Ref: Howard Webb (South Yorkshire)
PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS (Top team at end of season becomes English Champions, top 4 qualify for the European Cup, 5th and 6th qualify for UEFA Cup and bottom three are relegated into the Championship, the second tier of English football with three Championship teams being promoted into the Premier)
1) Arsenal.......27 points
2) Man Utd......27
3) Chelsea.......24
4) Portsmouth...22
--------------------------------------
5) Blackburn.....22
6) Man City.......22
--------------------------------------
7) Liverpool......21
8 )Everton........19
9) Aston Villa.....18
10) West Ham.....17
11) Newcastle.....17
12) Reading........13
13) Fulham.........12
14) Birmingham....11
15) Sunderland.....9
16) Middlesbrough..9
17) Tottenham......8
------------------------------
18 ) Wigan Athletic..8
19) Bolton ...........6
20) Derby County....6
dailymail.co.uk
news.bbc.co.uk/sport
This clash of the titans was between the current top two teams in the league. London giants Arsenal have only ever lost once at their Emirates Stadium since it opened at the start of last season.
Frustration for Fergie as Gallas hauls Arsenal out of trouble
By IAN RIDLEY
4th November 2007
Daily Mail
ARSENAL 2-2 MANCHESTER UNITED (Emirates Stadium, London)
Fabregas 48.....................Gallas 45 (Own Goal)
Gallas 90.........................Ronaldo 82
There are many good players who can change games on their day. Then there are the great ones who do it when it is not their day.
Wayne Rooney struggled to impose himself on a tight Arsenal central defence, though grew with the game. Cristiano Ronaldo just could not shake off Gael Clichy for long enough to show off those dancing feet.
Great start: Wayne Rooney, with help from William Gallas, helps United take the lead at the Emirates
Still Rooney did enough to force William Gallas into an own goal, still Ronaldo popped up to score.
Gallas may have redeemed himself with the dramatic last-gasp equaliser in the breathtaking finish to a stupendous contest but when heat of battle died down,and their frustration waned after the late wresting from them of all three points, it should be United who are the happier with the draw.
Arsenal did not quite play with the panache that has shot them to the top of the table. United were never going to allow them to.
But even with manager Arsene Wenger surprisingly cautious in his selection — striker Eduardo on the bench and Emmanuel Adebayor often isolated up front — they showed enough of the lithe movement that enables them to retain possession for long periods and created the clearer chances to make them deserving of the point they salvaged.
Twice they came from behind,the first time with Cesc Fabregas's 11th goal of an already remarkable season, against an efficient United, who rarely hit the attacking heights they showed when scoring four goals in each of their previous four games.
And as important as the point that preserved Arsenal's unbeaten start to the season will be the denial of three which prevented United taking over at the top of the table; just as they held Liverpool at Anfield last Sunday, also retrieving a deficit.
Leveller: Cesc Fabregas tucks away an equaliser at the start of the second half
'Our character was tested twice,' said Wenger. 'People are attracted by our technical ability but there is character and resilience, that is well hidden.'
Sir Alex Ferguson was left to lament the late disappointment.'I can't believe it,' he said.'We have thrown it away.'
No matter the size of the fixture, lunchtime kick-offs have a habit of disappointing, the atmosphere flat with fans still easing themselves into the weekend. With the Emirates ready to rumble and raucous after a monumental build-up to the game all week, there was little danger of anticlimax with this one.
Arsenal sounded intent from the opening whistle. Instead of passing the ball back for someone to hoof forward towards a corner, Alexander Hleb ran at United's defence,past three shocked players before he was dispossessed.
It was an overture to some sweet music and intricate patterns, but without an end product of chances being created, Arsenal understandably a little wary against a team who arrived on the back of eight straight League wins.
Adebayor nipped in between Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic to meet Clichy's cross with a firm header, but wide. Gallas headed Fabregas's freekick goalwards but Edwin van der Sar saved low down.
In between, Arsenal also had a convincing claim for a penalty, Hleb outstripping Vidic on the United right but being tugged back.
With their trademark sweeping passes out of defence, United looked dangerous on the break, though. Carlos Tevez stabbed just wide of the near post from Ryan Giggs' low cross. Giggs himself prodded the ball just wide at the far post from Ronaldo's low cross from the other side.
Net gain: Edwin Van Der Sar is behind the line as Gallas fires home the leveller
Then it came, moments before the interval. Wes Brown rolled a pass to Ronaldo, whose low cross was met at the near post by Rooney. His miscued touch was heading wide until a desperately lunging Gallas diverted it past goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.
Arsenal were clearly instructed by Wenger at the interval to raise the tempo and were level within three minutes. Emmanuel Eboue clipped a ball forward to Adebayor, Van der Sar saving at his feet.
The ball ran loose to Bacary Sagna, however, and from his low cross, Fabregas steered a shot past Ferdinand on the line.
Now it was set up. Once upon a time in English football, both sides would have settled for a draw. But both scented the opportunity to put down an early-season marker and dispirit the other.
Rooney,beginning to fancy being a hero, hit a low shot that Almunia clutched. At the other end, Tomas Rosicky curled a shot wide. It was ebb and flow, cut and thrust.
It looked as if United had won it when substitute Louis Saha found Patrice Evra for a piercing low cross that Ronaldo met emphatically. The whole United bench erupted in unison. But Arsenal plugged away,late goals becoming their speciality. Clichy escaped down the left and swung in a low cross, Gallas missed it but it reached substitute Theo Walcott at the far post. His effort was a poor, miscued shot back across goal but it found Gallas again, Van der Sar only able to intervene after the shot had crossed the line.
With assistant referee Darren Cann spotting it,United had not got the slice of luck that once saw Roy Carroll claw a shot by Tottenham's Pedro Mendes out from behind their goalline.
Still, while failing to hold on to a lead may irk, they should be encouraged at coming away with something without major contributions from their main attacking forces. It will not always be thus.
Arsenal 2-2 Manchester United: The visitors sit back for most of the half before seeing Wayne Rooney's shot go in off William Gallas
The Gunners level in the 48th minute when Fabregas coolly finishes after seeing Emmanuel Adebayor's shot saved
With eight minutes left, Cristiano Ronaldo successfully converts Patrice Evra's cross to put Man Utd in control
Arsenal push forward for an equaliser and get it in injury time courtesy of Gallas whose shot squeezes in to keep them top
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue (Walcott 74), Fabregas, Flamini, Rosicky (Eduardo 80), Hleb (Silva 80), Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Lehmann, Diarra.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown (O'Shea 71), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Anderson (Carrick 76), Hargreaves, Giggs, Tevez (Saha 76), Rooney.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Nani.
----------------------------------------------------------
Attendance: 60,161 Ref: Howard Webb (South Yorkshire)
PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS (Top team at end of season becomes English Champions, top 4 qualify for the European Cup, 5th and 6th qualify for UEFA Cup and bottom three are relegated into the Championship, the second tier of English football with three Championship teams being promoted into the Premier)
1) Arsenal.......27 points
2) Man Utd......27
3) Chelsea.......24
4) Portsmouth...22
--------------------------------------
5) Blackburn.....22
6) Man City.......22
--------------------------------------
7) Liverpool......21
8 )Everton........19
9) Aston Villa.....18
10) West Ham.....17
11) Newcastle.....17
12) Reading........13
13) Fulham.........12
14) Birmingham....11
15) Sunderland.....9
16) Middlesbrough..9
17) Tottenham......8
------------------------------
18 ) Wigan Athletic..8
19) Bolton ...........6
20) Derby County....6
dailymail.co.uk
news.bbc.co.uk/sport