Tale of a winner and a manager destined to ‘Ga-g-al’

Sometimes things fall together so well, you just want to raise your hands up to God and say, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

And that is how all Arsenal supporters would have felt after the events that transpired over the weekend's English Premier League action.

The Gunners had a resounding 3-0 win over Aston Villa, a team which had conquered the once-mighty Liverpool at Anfield just last week and were on a high being unbeaten so far this season.

For Arsenal, it was especially gratifying to see two players who had come under some flak in their last few games combine well to deliver two of the goals in quick succession in the first half.

After the opening weekend win against Crystal Palace last month was followed by three draws and a midweek loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, many supporters got on the team's back as usual.

There was hope going into the weekend but not so much optimism among Arsenal supporters, despite a good record at Villa Park - having not lost there since December 1998.

However, "the ball is round", as my late father used to say, stating the obvious, and he was right... anything can happen in the blink of an eye.

Not long after Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny steadily kept out two great shots at goal, the match changed dramatically. First, a great pass from new boy Danny Welbeck released Mesut Ozil for a run at goal, which he converted quite easily.

A minute later, the tables were turned as an excellent cross into the box from Ozil - after more wonderful passing the "Arsenal way" - found Welbeck to smash the ball into the Aston Villa net. An own goal followed and The Gunners held on to the lead for a convincing win that pushed us into our all-too-familiar 4th-spot.

But the joy didn't end there, and this is where it becomes a rare occasion for Gooners to enjoy a truly "perfect weekend", being the only winner among all the usual suspects.

Possible title rivals Liverpool lost - their third loss of the season - later on Saturday, followed by the defeats of Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United on Sunday, then lastly, Arsenal's two main title rivals Chelsea and Manchester City neutralised each other.

Yep, we will take what we can get.

On a more important note, it's not only that these teams were defeated, it is also very telling that all of them, like Arsenal, had some European action in mid-week, except Manchester United.

However, it was only the Red Devils who seemed to have run out of gas allowing newly-promoted Leicester City to come back from 3-1 down with 30 minutes left, to score four goals in 21 minutes and literally snatch the game from the jaws of defeat.

Louis van Gaal, or as someone wrote on Facebook "Lose van Gagal", is getting more than he bargained for in the English Premier League. Opening the cheque book and just signing big players does not work in the EPL like it does in Spain or Germany, where only a few clubs dominate for the most part.

I feel this loss is even more embarrassing for MU than the 4-0 defeat in the Capital One Cup (League Cup) last month to third-tier league club MK Dons.

After all, Van Gaal had "broken the bank" to bring in superstars Angel di Maria and Falcao just before the transfer window closed and still nothing has changed from the failures of last season.

David Moyes must be having the last laugh as Van Gaal seems intent on beating the Scot's record for MU's worst start in many years.

Before the season started, despite all the wins in their friendlies in the United States and Europe, I was telling some friends that it is unlikely that Van Gaal will bring the success MU fans are expecting.

Giving the captaincy to Wayne Rooney, shoring up the attack with one too many new players - besides selling home-grown talent Welbeck - then neglecting the defence has proven I am not far off the mark.

Englishman Rooney was a populist choice. That is a sign of Van Gaal trying to appease the local fans, the English hordes which are mostly from outside Manchester (as the old joke goes).

Hence, it is a sign of weakness on his part. Alex Ferguson would never have made decisions on that basis.

There are more suitable, capable and experienced captains, including Van Gaal's own pick for captain of Holland the past year, Robin Van Persie, and Darren Fletcher, who had captained Scotland as far back as 2004.

Yes, Rooney is now England's captain but only in two matches so far, and none at the time he was given the skipper's armband by Van Gaal.

I foresee the knee-jerk reactions on the part of Van Gaal following this devastating defeat to cause some rift in the dressing room and players just not gelling together, bringing the club full circle to last season's scenario.

Van Gaal is no Ferguson, and yes, no one expects him to be so. But all the comparisons about "making tough decisions", doing things his way and handling star players sternly just won't fly with this group of millionaires, who just have no fear of any manager, unlike how they feared the hair-dryer treatment from the most successful manager of all time.

Player power worked last season, and it is likely that this rich club will see these primadonna players knowing they have nothing to lose, with their talents always in demand anywhere in Europe, or even the US, these days.

Now, I wonder what odds English bookmakers are giving for Van Gaal to exit by January?  It might be worth a punt. – September 22, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.