Like thousands of Manchester United fans – and possibly many City ones, I cannot decide what to make of the shock, free transfer move by Owen Hargreaves to the blue side of town. Why? By all reports, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, West Brom and a number of Championship outfits showed interest in signing him so why go to a club where his chances of even getting a seat on the bench will be highly improbable. You would think that after so long without kicking a ball, giving himself the chance of getting as much game time as possible – and an opportunity to prove his fitness, would have been his major objective.

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With apologies to Manchester United AND Arsenal fans, I cannot make any further comments. That 8-2 thumping of the Gooners at the Theatre of Dreams has simply left me in seventh – SORRY, 8th heaven! The incredible events at Old Trafford on Sunday August 28, 2011 will never, EVER be forgotten in the annals of English football. It must be said however that manager Arsene Wenger has to stay at the Emirates because there’s nobody better to replace him. But hang on, I just remembered that Rafa Benitez is available AND desperate for a Premier League job. Now that’s an interesting thought for the many despondent Arsenal fans!

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Arsenal walked into the Theatre of Dreams full of anticipation following their good midweek Champions League win at Udinese, only to depart a couple of hours later having suffered a hellish nightmare! Manchester United were merciless as they cut the young Gunners to ribbons. It was a display of firepower which must have surely sent shivers down the spine of their title rivals. Sir Alex Ferguson was surprised by the ease of his side’s victory despite Arsenal missing so many first team regulars. It must also be remembered that United’s starting lineup did NOT include Vidic, Ferdinand, Valencia, Fletcher, Carrick, Giggs, Hernandez, Park, Berbatov, Owen, Macheda and the Da Silva twins. That’s pretty much ANOTHER United side which will be able to successfully compete with most other Premiership clubs. Sir Alex has somehow built a squad which is almost frightening.

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Let’s call a spade a spade, maybe all footballers are prostitutes! Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was prepared to reveal that Samir Nasri could have – and wanted to – join Manchester United but instead went to City for the money! The always blunt Redknapp was quoted on Saturdays SportingReview.com as saying that “Nasri could have gone to United. They wanted him and he wanted to go to Old Trafford. But then City came in and offered him more money so he went to them instead. United are still the biggest team in England. City haven’t got the tradition of United, Arsenal or Liverpool.”

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It makes you wonder how major club managers can possibly juggle the commitments of their admittedly large squads. Just look at what Sir Alex Ferguson is up against for the rest of this year following Sundays home clash with Arsenal. It’s enough to give anyone nightmares as key players travel across the world for international duties on no less than three occasions. That’s on top of a heavy domestic and Champion League schedule but Sir Alex is of course not the only one facing this dilemma, many leading Premier League and European club bosses have to somehow wrestle with the same problem. It’s little wonder that so called super squads are no longer a luxury but an absolute must if clubs are to have any hope of winning silverware.

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Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Darren Fletcher is ready to make a return to senior duties and will be considered for Sunday’s squad to face Arsenal. The Scottish midfielder emerged unscathed from Thursday evening’s Reserves victory over Swansea and the manager told his pre match press conference that Fletcher is ready for his first senior outing of the season.

Ferguson also leapt to the defence of the Gunners embattled manager Arsene Wenger “The work he has done in the 15 years he has been at the club is the best in Arsenal’s history” he pointed out “Yes, he has not won a trophy for six years but what does that mean? The quality of his side has not been reduced so it’s a bit unfair” He then slammed the critics by saying “but who understands fairness and unfairness these days? Supporters are far less easy to please than they were 20 years ago”

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