THESE TWO GREAT CLUBS HAVE LOST THEIR AURA

WE CAN get lost in statistics and tactics, but as Arsenal travel to Old Trafford tonight, I want to talk about aura. Manchester United had that back in the day. They had household names. Teams went there to make up the numbers. I remember having words with referees in the tunnel because they seemed to get caught up in it, too. With me, it would be, ‘Oi, Keown, come here.’ With United’s players, such was the respect they were shown, it would be ‘Roy’, or ‘David’, or ‘Ryan’, and so on. I wasn’t having that. I’d tell the referee to treat us the same, to call us by our first names, too. But that was an example of the aura they had, especially at home. I know what that is like, too. We had that at Arsenal and had some great battles against United — the FA Cup semi-final replay at Villa Park in 1999, the day we won the title at their place in 2002, the second Battle of Old Trafford in 2003. I even remember going there when I was 19 in 1985 and engaging in an epic battle with Mark Hughes. We did the Double in 1998. They won the Treble in 1999. We both had an aura about us, but that has been lost. Old Trafford used to give them an added layer of invincibility, they wore it like a suit of armour. Players would go there with trepidation. Now they go there with hope and belief. Look at Rochdale. On September 14, they lost 6-0 at Peterborough in League One. Nine of the players who started that game started against United in the Carabao Cup — and they drew 1-1. That aura has been lost. We are now in our seventh season since United were last champions of England. They are closing in on the £1billion mark in transfer fees since Sir Alex Ferguson left. According to figures from last season, they are paying the highest wages in the Premier League, but getting little in return. Even Arsenal, a side that have struggled away from home under Unai Emery, should go there thinking they can get something. After his team’s struggles on the road last season, Emery should see this as an opportunity to turn a corner. For Arsenal to finish fourth, they have to conquer that Achilles’ heel of theirs, and winning at Old Trafford would be a fine start. SCORE PREDICTION – 2-2