Arsenal trimmed after old nemesis halts United’s charge to title

The loss to Liverpool made it two defeats in a row for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and they could keep on coming if they continue to perform in the manner they did at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

With Marseilles and Arsenal coming up in the Champions League and FA Cup, now would be the worst possible moment for Manchester United to hit a rough patch.

As it stands Man Utd are still the 8/11 favourites to win the Premier League and with home ties against Marseille and Arsenal, are favoured to progress into the next round of both the Champions League and the FA Cup.

But while Man United arguably played their best half of football in the defeat to Chelsea in midweek, the lacklustre display at Anfield proved just how crucial captain Nemanja Vidic and defensive partner Rio Ferdinand are to the cause.

But it’s not just the defensively where Manchester United are struggling with Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher failing to maintain their usual high levels of consistency, there is more onus on the aging Paul Scholes to salvage games.

There’s no doubt about it, the next few fixtures will see the Premier League odds, FA Cup odds and Champions League odds chop and change more times than Sir Alex’s team selections, and savvy punters will find plenty of value in the respective betting markets.

Arsenal were trimmed into 13/8 to win the Premier League despite drawing with Sunderland on Saturday, while Chelsea, who are just 12 points off United with two games in hand, are available at 8/1.

It’s not yet a crisis with Man Utd still the favourites for the FA Cup at 9/4, and high up in the Champions League betting at 7/1, but it may possibly be Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatest ever achievement were he to steer United to the treble with this current crop of players.

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