All of the major news about Manchester United.
Club captain Nemanja Vidic has been ruled out until Christmas. The defender has undergone another knee operation, and Sir Alex Ferguson did not even appear overly confident when discussing the prognosis, describing it as ‘difficult to assess’ and ‘maybe around Christmas’ were his words when talking about a possible return date.
The same update on Manchester United’s official site also adds Shinjia Kagawa is out for another four weeks still. He was originally ruled out more than a week ago for three to four weeks, so the recovery time from his injury is to be longer than first thought, although Sir Alex Ferguson was much more confident the new signing’s knee injury was less serious than Vidic’s.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that striker Robin Van Persie turned down a deal to join Manchester City in favour of Manchester United. Wenger confirmed that City and Arsenal were in talks over a transfer for the Dutchman but Van Persie chose the red side of Manchester instead.
Manchester United have no fresh injury problems ahead of the Premier League match against Arsenal this weekend. There had been hope that defender Chris Smalling would be fit in time to take a place on the substitutes bench for the match but he joins Phil Jones and Nemanja Vidic in staying out of action.
Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn has said he believes striker Robin Van Persie is not mentally prepared to face his former employers this weekend. Van Persie is expected to receive a hostile reception from Arsenal fans at Old Trafford and Winterburn believes it may affect the way he plays.
Sir Alex Ferguson has said that he cannot believe referee Mark Clattenburg would racially abuse any player. Clattenburg is alleged to have made inappropriate comments to Chelsea player Jon Obi Mikel and it has since emerged that one of his Chelsea teammates may have simply misheard the pronunciation of a word.
England coach and former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has told Prime Minister David Cameron to stay out of football. Cameron recently called on the FA to do more to combat racism in the game which has triggered Neville to suggest that the PM should concentrate on his own job.
One of the reasons behind Robin Van Persie’s departure from Arsenal was the club’s reluctance to let him have a say in transfers. A leading football website has put together a report which suggests Van Persie would have stayed at Arsenal had he been able to help select possible transfer targets.
Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole says Robin Van Persie was both brave and correct to join the club from Arsenal. The Dutchman rejected an improved contract at Arsenal to join Manchester United who he chose over local rivals Manchester City.
Ryan Giggs has praised teammate Robin Van Persie ahead of the clash with Arsenal and described him as a ready made star. Giggs says the arrival of the Dutch striker in the summer gave everyone a lift including fans who may have started to believe that the power in Manchester was switching over to Manchester City.
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