Gunners Shot Down

Last night, in the forever ongoing episode that is Manchester United vs Arsenal, the Red Devil's triumphed 1-0 victors over their London counterparts.

Park Ji-Sung, who scored his fourth career goal against Wenger's men, arched his back and found the net with a superb looping header.

But a game built up to be a classic encounter failed to lighten up those who watched it, and plenty of play was broken down with fouls and bookings.

Arsenal amassed four yellow cards during the game, showing the intent of stopping United hitting them on the break, but that's about all you saw of the visting side.

The opening moments weren't of the highest quality, and loose passes and poor clearances by the Gunners' back line led to United having a lot of the ball in the attacking third.

And just as it looked as if Arsenal were going to hold on in a half dominated by the Red Devils, Nani cut in from the right hand side, where he was given far too much space by a dissapointing Gael Clichy. The Portuguese's deflected cross sat up awkwardly just in front of Park, who improvised and headed superbly over Szczesny.

Referee Howard Webb, with help from his assistant, awarded a penalty to United too, after Arsenal's left back, Gael Clichy, was adjugded to have handled the ball, but Rooney, who had only scored twice this season, blazed his spot-kick over the bar.

But with this result, Manchester United now sit at the top of the Premier League with 34 points, two clear of the chasing pack, with their re-arranged match against Blackpool still to play.

They have hardly been at their best, with the likes of Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, and Rio Ferdinand not completely on fire this season, yet the red side of Mnachester couldn't be happier.

They are also the only side in the 92 league sides, that remain unbeaten, having said that they face a stern test against a Chelsea side who looked back to their best in their game against Tottenham at the weekend.

Arsenal's defeat at Old Trafford means their record against Chelsea and United is now no wins in their last 11 games - hardly results you would expect from title challengers this year.

It may be time to re-assess things down at North London. Make sure they win the Carling Cup, so no one, not fans, media or rivals get on their back and ridicule them for the lack of a trophy, and then go from there.

With Chelsea to play in two weeks, it may time to play a different way against them. That record I mentioned is poor, so maybe it's time to counteract what system they play, rather than usuing our own methods and try and pass it round them.

This December, has to be one of the most crucial months in Premier League history. Christmas has always been a period where teams lose and gain dramatic points in a busy festive period, but this year the fixture computer pitched the big sides against each other during this time.

With United beating Arsenal last night, we still have plenty of more action and drama to unfold.

Either way, if Chelsea beat United next week, this title race can still be exciting for everyone, if United win, then they certainly have taken a big step towards their favoured destiny.