"New Manchester United's attacking momentum has dropped, and their shape is beginning to retreat. Arsenal are coming forward now, wave after wave against the Red Rebels' defensive line!"
Andy Gray's excitement was obvious.
For a neutral, this was exactly the kind of match people wanted to see.
End to end.
One side attacking, the other responding.
"Maicon was clearly warned by Henry's effort against the post," Gray continued. "He isn't pushing forward with the same freedom anymore."
"And Arsenal are sensing it."
"Their attacking momentum is growing, and even the back four are stepping higher. They want to pin New Manchester United inside their own half."
Martin Tyler kept shaking his head.
Something did not look right.
"There's something strange about this."
Gray glanced across.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure New Manchester United are being forced back."
Tyler stared at the pitch for another few seconds.
Then it clicked.
"I think they're inviting Arsenal forward."
Gray paused.
Tyler continued immediately.
"Look at the front line."
"Drogba, Robben, and Palacio are all staying close to Arsenal's defensive line."
"It looks as though they've stopped pressing because they're tired."
"But they're actually positioned to attack the space the moment Arsenal lose possession."
"And Kaká is deliberately staying outside the immediate reach of Vieira and Gilberto Silva."
Gray looked again.
He saw it now.
New Manchester United's defence appeared to be under heavy pressure.
But Arsenal were not actually creating many clear chances.
The deeper the Red Rebels defended, the less room Henry and the others found near the penalty area.
Inside thirty metres of goal, Arsenal could barely complete a clean combination.
At the other end, however, the situation was very different.
Arsenal's defensive line had pushed high.
And behind it lay exactly the kind of space New Manchester United's attackers wanted.
Wenger had seen the danger too.
But he was willing to accept it.
Arsenal were two goals down.
If they scored next, the entire match could change.
Highbury would erupt.
The players would believe.
Momentum might carry them to an equaliser or even a comeback.
That possibility was too tempting to ignore.
The problem was that Arsenal's attacking line could not break through New Manchester United's compact defensive shape.
So the responsibility for progression began falling deeper.
Into the space between the midfield and defence.
And that was exactly where Mourinho wanted Arsenal to take risks.
...
Vieira was the heart of Arsenal's team.
Some people said Arsenal dropped an entire level when he was unavailable.
That alone said everything about his importance.
Since signing his new contract, Vieira had carried enormous responsibility.
Defensively, he was Arsenal's physical anchor.
In possession, he was increasingly expected to move the team forward.
The influence of Arsenal's French contingent was obvious.
Vieira.
Henry.
Pires.
Cygan.
Clichy.
Five of Arsenal's eleven starters were French.
Vieira had worked relentlessly throughout the match.
But the result was still terrible.
Arsenal were two goals behind.
Time was disappearing.
And the captain was becoming increasingly anxious.
So he began pushing farther forward.
He wanted to affect the match.
He even found space for one long-range effort.
Vieira had always wanted to become for Arsenal what Roy Keane was for Manchester United.
Not merely captain.
Not merely leader.
The central personality of the entire side.
That ambition often encouraged him to take on more than his basic midfield duties.
He defended.
Organised.
Carried the ball.
Made late runs.
Shot from distance.
Wenger's system gave him the freedom to do it.
And Vieira had been excellent that season.
Now Arsenal desperately needed someone to take responsibility.
Naturally, Vieira stepped forward again.
But when a defensive midfielder moved higher, the back line also had to advance.
Otherwise, the distance between the two units became too large.
That was where Kaká came in.
Mourinho had given him a very specific instruction after the tactical adjustment.
When New Manchester United dropped deeper, stay near Vieira.
Do not chase recklessly.
Do not waste energy.
Watch him.
Wait.
Kaká followed the instruction perfectly.
For several minutes, he drifted around Vieira without appearing particularly dangerous.
At first, Arsenal paid close attention.
Then, slowly, they stopped worrying about him.
That was the mistake.
Vieira carried the ball forward again.
Kaká suddenly accelerated from his blind side.
Before Vieira could release the pass, Kaká stole possession.
Vieira immediately turned to counter-press.
That was one of the advantages of using him as a deeper organiser.
Lose the ball and he was already close enough to attack the opponent.
Kaká knew that too.
He did not try to dribble.
One touch.
Straight to Beckham.
Gilberto Silva moved across.
Beckham barely looked up.
Then came the pass.
That familiar body shape.
That elegant swing of the right foot.
A diagonal ball flew behind Campbell and Cygan.
Perfect weight.
Perfect angle.
Straight into the gap between them.
Robben had already started running.
This time, Arsenal's offside trap failed.
He was through.
Campbell turned.
Cygan chased.
Neither could catch him.
Robben collected the pass, drove diagonally towards the right side of goal, and saw Lehmann beginning to come off his line.
No panic.
No extra touch.
Just a composed low finish.
The ball rolled past Lehmann and into the net.
0-3.
Robben exploded.
He had been caught offside several times earlier in the match.
Each decision had frustrated him more.
New Manchester United were dominating.
Chances were coming.
Yet he had been unable to add his own goal.
For a young winger desperate to prove himself, that had been irritating.
Now he finally had it.
Robben sprinted away celebrating before turning back towards Beckham and pointing at him.
The assist had been perfect.
Andy Gray's voice rose.
"That is devastating."
"Absolutely devastating."
"Arsenal pushed too high, and New Manchester United have punished them with one of the cleanest counter-attacks you'll see."
"You cannot leave that kind of space against this front four."
"They've effectively walked straight into the firing line."
Martin Tyler shook his head.
"No, Andy."
"They were invited there."
Gray looked across.
"New Manchester United deliberately dropped their defensive line."
"They wanted Arsenal to push up."
"And the moment Arsenal did, the space appeared."
Tyler could not hide his admiration.
Mourinho had controlled Wenger's decisions almost from the first whistle.
Arsenal had been encouraged to make exactly the adjustments New Manchester United wanted.
Wenger's biggest weakness had been exposed again.
Hesitation.
If he had slowed the game earlier, if Arsenal had shown more patience, if the defensive line had stayed deeper, perhaps the third goal would not have happened.
But football had no use for perhaps.
The goal stood.
0-3.
The cameras found Wenger immediately.
His eyes were closed.
For a moment, he looked as though he simply could not bear to watch.
He had invested everything in preparing Arsenal for this match.
And once again, Mourinho had found the answer.
Wenger's belief had been simple.
Score one.
Just one.
Then everything changes.
Mourinho had seen that belief.
And turned it against him.
...
The third goal broke Arsenal.
Not immediately.
But visibly.
Their discipline began to disappear.
Wenger returned to his seat and barely moved.
From the outside, it almost looked as though he had accepted the result.
The players had not.
Vieira certainly had not.
Arsenal's challenges became more aggressive.
The pressing became frantic.
The tackles became harder.
But there was no structure behind it.
Anger replaced organisation.
And once that happened, the match was effectively over.
Arsenal's attack became chaotic.
Then the defence followed.
The players' heads dropped.
Tactical instructions stopped being followed properly.
Some looked as though they simply wanted the final whistle.
New Manchester United responded in the opposite way.
They sensed weakness.
And attacked it.
The Red Rebels pushed forward again.
Wave after wave.
Arsenal, who only minutes earlier had been trying to pin Mourinho's side back, were suddenly being forced deep into their own half.
Then came the fourth.
86th minute.
Palacio received possession on the right.
Clichy stepped out.
Palacio beat him.
The Argentine reached the edge of the penalty area and drove a low ball towards the near post.
Drogba attacked it.
Cygan lost him.
One sharp movement.
One outstretched boot.
Goal.
0-4.
Highbury fell silent.
Clichy had been beaten too easily.
But responsibility did not belong to him alone.
Campbell and Cygan had both switched off.
That was enough.
Drogba needed very little encouragement.
Four goals down.
Only a few minutes left.
There was no way back.
Arsenal's players looked empty.
For them, this was no longer simply a defeat.
It was a rout.
For New Manchester United, it was something much bigger.
A statement.
A landmark victory.
One match could not create history by itself.
But some victories changed how a team saw itself.
And how everyone else saw it.
This was one of them.
From this night onwards, New Manchester United no longer needed to stand in the shadows of England's established clubs.
They had gone to Highbury.
They had faced an unbeaten Arsenal side.
And they had dismantled them.
Not by surviving.
Not by stealing a goal.
Not by defending for ninety minutes.
By imposing their own football.
Control.
Pressure.
Aggression.
Everything Mourinho had demanded before kick-off.
They had proved it on the pitch.
...
The only ugly moment came near the end.
Vieira and Essien challenged for the same ball.
Neither backed away.
Words followed.
Then a shove.
Essien reacted.
Vieira pushed back.
Curtis saw the confrontation and immediately charged across.
He shoved Vieira hard enough to send the Arsenal captain to the ground.
Players from both sides rushed in.
For a few seconds, it looked as though the match might finish in a mass confrontation.
The referee moved quickly.
Yellow card for Vieira.
Yellow for Essien.
Yellow for Curtis.
That calmed things enough to prevent the situation escalating.
Given the temperature of the match, the referee clearly had no interest in adding unnecessary time.
After barely a minute of stoppage time, he blew the final whistle.
Arsenal 0-4 New Manchester United.
The travelling supporters erupted.
Thousands of Red Rebels fans celebrated in their corner of Highbury.
The players walked across to applaud them.
That only irritated the home crowd further.
Boos poured down from every side.
So did abuse.
Nobody in the away section cared.
This was their night.
When television cameras turned towards the Arsenal bench, Wenger was gone.
No one seemed sure exactly when he had left.
Perhaps he was already in the dressing room.
Perhaps he was preparing what to say to his players.
Perhaps he simply needed a few moments away from the pitch.
Football could be merciless.
For years, Wenger's Arsenal had handed painful defeats to other teams.
Now it was their turn to take one.
...
"What a result," Andy Gray said as the broadcast moved towards the post-match analysis.
"This is the kind of victory that changes how a team is viewed."
"New Manchester United have now played eighteen Premier League matches."
"Fifteen wins."
"Three draws."
"Forty-eight points."
"They are top of the league."
"Manchester United are second on forty-three points after winning this round."
"Arsenal drop to third."
"Twelve wins, five draws, one defeat."
"Forty-one points."
"Chelsea are fourth on forty."
"Liverpool fifth on thirty-seven."
Gray shook his head.
"Half the season gone, and the promoted club has a five-point lead."
"Nobody expected this."
Martin Tyler nodded.
"But the title isn't won in December."
"There's still a long way to go."
"The winter schedule is coming."
"Then the second half of the season."
"And the African Cup of Nations could be a major problem."
"Drogba."
"Essien."
"Kolo Touré."
"Yaya Touré."
"All could be away."
Gray nodded.
"And Yaya came on for Beckham today, so we're talking about genuine first-team depth disappearing."
Tyler continued.
"The good news is that John Terry's suspension is nearing its end."
"He'll be available again domestically by the time Arsenal visit Old Trafford on February 7."
Gray smiled.
"Although Vidić has made a very strong case for himself."
"His improvement during Terry's absence has been obvious."
"And his understanding with Curtis is getting better all the time."
"Today, against Henry and Arsenal's attack, he barely put a foot wrong."
Tyler agreed.
"A club fighting on several fronts needs at least three high-level centre-backs."
"Vidić pushing Terry and Curtis can only help New Manchester United."
"And Chiellini has looked promising too."
"He's young, but there's clearly something there."
Gray leaned back.
"I'll admit it, Martin."
"This match has changed my view of them."
"Before today, I thought New Manchester United were having an extraordinary season for a promoted side."
"Now?"
He smiled.
"Now I think they're simply one of the best teams in the Premier League."
"And I'm very interested to see what they do after Christmas."
Tyler nodded.
"So am I."
After Highbury, nobody could dismiss New Manchester United as merely the season's surprise package anymore.
They had arrived as challengers.
They left as title contenders.
(To be continued.)