Source: SKY_Sports
Man Utd v Arsenal live!
97 That's it. Arsenal will feel they've been robbed here while United fans will point to the fact that champions win even when they're outplayed. See you next week.
Oh dear. Van Persie scores but the flag is raised as Gallas was offside in the build-up. Arsene Wenger is sent off in the aftermath as he shows his ire. They've been very hard dealt by today and he had the right to be angry.
95 Rooney cuts it back to Nani after United rip Arsenal open on the counter. Almunia makes a brilliant save but palms it out to Nani. His second shot is a joke and fails to trouble the scorers
93 Berbatov receives a beautiful pass from Nani and is clear through on goal. He takes the worst shot you'll ever see from a Premier League footballer - sending it far wide with zero power.
92 Clichy wins a throw-in off Fletcher, who has been superb today.
90 Stoppage time arrives. Arsenal desperately need a goal and have five minutes in which to manufacture one.
88 United win a corner and take their sweet time in delivering it. Vidic wins the header but only knocks it down to Gallas, who
clears.
86 United are keeping things tight but they're split open as Bendtner crosses from the right and Eduardo almost gets a touch.
Giggs departs the action as Dimitar Berbatov comes on.
83 United are content to soak up the pressure and hit Arsenal on the break. The Gunners surge forward and Nicolas Bendtner sends his shot wide of goal.
81 Clichy shoots from distance but the effort is shocking. It goes out for a throw-in.
80 Arshavin lays it out wide for Eboue to chase but Fletcher makes a superb covering tackle.
78 Denilson comes off and Eduardo replaces him. In a staggering act of hypocticy the same crowd that used to cheer Cristiano Ronaldo boos the Croatioan - the first player who ever dove.
77 Sagna forces a throw-in off Nani but Diaby loses the ball to Carrick and United attack again.
76 Nani does well to prevent a corner and lobs the ball upfield. On the counter Van Persie is flagged offside.
72 Denilson lobs the ball forward for Van Persie but Foster gets there first.
70 Eboue is booked for going down under a non-challenge from Evra. Paying the price for Eduardo's crime there.
69 United have their tails up now and pour forward in numbers. Nani breaks on the left but Gallas takes the ball from him. Evra collects and forces a fine save from Almunia.
68 Van Persie beats Brown and shanks a shot wide of goal.
67 Eduardo is warming up on the touchline. Will he dive when he's on?
65 Diaby has a chance to make amends but swirls his shot wide after being played through on goal.
63 OWN GOAL DIABY: Giggs sends the ball into the Arsenal area and Diaby, under no pressure at all, heads it into his own net quite neatly. A terrible piece of football.
62 Van Persie takes the free-kick from the right and hits the bar after beating Foster all ends up. The United keeper came off his line and was almost punished for that.
61 Brown hacks down Diaby on the right and is rightly booked. Cynical stuff.
60 That goal really opens up the tie. Arsenal were dominant but suddenly they're back to square one.
58 GOAL ROONEY: The United forward sends Almunia the wrong way and stabs the ball into the top-right corner. Well taken if undeserved.
57 Almunia comes off his line and brings down Rooney. Not really a penalty but it's been given.
56 Evra does superbly as he intercepts Diaby's pass. Van Persie was lurking so that was a telling block.
55 Rooney's chip into the area is headed out by Vermaelen. United seem bereft of ideas at the moment.
53 The Red Devils win a corner. Brown's header is blocked and Carrick picks up the loose ball but sees his shot deflected out for a corner. It comes to aught.
52 Carrick picks out Valencia on the edge of the area. O'Shea makes a run out wide but the former Wigan man elects to shoot and skews his effort badly.
50 Clichy picks out Eboue brilliantly but the Ivorian utilty man seems unable to decide whether he should shoot or take a touch and ends up doing neither.
49 United are a shambles at the moment, giving the ball away easily and sitting back as Arsenal run at them.
48 Arshavin crosses from a tight angle on the left and only a brilliant stop by Foster denies Van Persie's shot. It clould have been over there.
47 Arsene Wenger is pacing the touchline. He's been very vocal regarding Darren Fletcher's non-booking and, almost immediately, the referee gives Fletcher a stern telling off. The plot
thickens.
46 The second half kicks off. This should be mesmerising stuff.
Ilias raises a decent point: "Can someone please explain to me why Man Utd, the current Premiership champions are changing their system to host Arsenal. I know they're a good team and I've seen the start they've had but why does Sir Alex do this? I am very very annoyed!" Anyone?
Jay Harris stomps into the Eduardo debate: "Emailing to tell you I think Arsene Wenger was totally correct to say Eduardo should not be banned. It was after the event and should be down to the referees and linesmen. I have also heard in Brazil they have goal line referees, this would be very helpful in Britain."
The e-mails have been flying in, but nobody has shown the confidnece of Lewis, who writes: "I reckon Arsenal will win 4-1, Arshavin to get all 4 just like at Anfield. And Gallas to score an own goal." Well, well, well. Possible I suppose, but unlikely.
With Arsenal leading at the break their odds on winning have been slashed to 12/10. A better bet seems to be Arsenal to win 3-0 at 12/1. Feeling lucky? Head on over to www.skybet.com to make some money.
The half comes to an end. Arsenal have been good value for their lead despite surviving a couple of close calls. Arshavin should have had a penalty seconds before scoring but won't mind, as his superb strike sees his side go into the break with a lead.
45 It's all United in the closing stages of this half as they launch wave after wave of attack.
44 A United corner is headed clear by Gallas but in the aftermath Van Persie brings down Giggs and is booked.
42 United look to hit back immediately but Evra's pass is too heave for Rooney. Arsenal race down the other end and Van Persie has a good shout for a free-kick turned down.
40 GOAL ARSHAVIN: The Russian receives the ball with his back to goal and fashions something out of nothing. He takes two touches and sends a rocket of a shot into the top-right corner from distance. Foster had no chance of stopping that.
38 Fletcher clatters into Arshavin inside the penalty area but the referee waves play on.
37 Nani crosses the ball from the left but Gallas heads it clear confidently.
34 Patrice Evra is the third player to go into the referee's book. Van Persie delivers a poor free-kick.
33 Denilson lobs a free-kick into the box where Van Persie twists and turns before laying it wide to Arshavin. The Russian's cross is cut out by O'Shea.
32 Rooney steps up to take the free-kick and for a second it looks like he's scored but it's only the side netting.
31 A fantastic run by Evra is brought to a halt by William Gallas who gets a yellow card for his trouble.
30 Ryan Giggs runs through the middle but misreads Nan's run and sends his pass straight to Manuel Almunia.
29 United slow the game down by passing it around in defence. Arsenal have been the better side thus far.
27 Arshavin slides the ball through the United defence in an attempt to pick out Abou Diaby but overcooks the pass slightly.
26 Arsenal surge forward as Song picks out Denilson. The Gunners win a throw-in inside Manchester United's half.
24 Foster flaps at a cross and the ball falls to Arshavin who stabs his shot over the bar. The game has really come to life now.
23 Arsenal are extremely fortunate to not concede a goal as Evra crosses for Rooney. They almost hit back immediately though as Van Persie's shot is blocked by Evra.
22 Alex Song is the first man in the referee's book after a heavy challenge.
20 Twenty minutes gone and neither side has managed to produve a clear-cut chance. Both managers are putting safety first today.
19 Patrice Evra brings down Denilson to halt an Arsenal attack and concedes a free-kick just inside his own half.
18 Van Persie is over-enthusiastic in contesting a header and United gain a breather after they win a free-kick.
16 Gallas heads out a United corner but only as far as Giggs who starts another United attack. The ball is crossed to Valencia but he's penalised for fouling Gael Clichy.
14 United attack through John O'Shea and Wayne Rooney but the Arsenal defence remains resolute.
12 Van Persie sends in the corner but Wes Brown heads it back out. The second corner is caught by Foster.
11 Arsenal launch a foray into the United half but find themselves pressed at every opportunity. They win a corner after some hard work from Denilson and Emmanuel Eboue.
9 Manchester United have taken charge of the opening minutes, setting up camp in the Arsenal half.
8 Arsenal fail to deal with a loose ball in their penalty area and after a few fruitless clearing headers the ball falls to Michael Carrick who sends his shot high and wide.
5 Ben Foster, who has come in for some stick in recent times, comes off his line to confidently collect a cross.
3 Andrei Arshavin announces his presence with a foul. Both teams look nervous in these opening minutes, not committing too many men forwards.
2 It looks like both sides have opted for a lone striker in Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie respectively. Manuel Almunia comes out of his area to take an early free-kick for Arsenal.
1 The game kicks off at Old Trafford. It may be early days but there's no doubting the importance of this encounter. Arsenal are without Cesc Fabregas, an essential cog in their pasing engine, while Alex Ferguson has no space for the languid stylishness of Dimitar Berbatov. This should be an absorbing battle of wills.
Eduardo is left on the bench by Arsene Wenger as Arsenal put their free-scoring start to the season on the line against Manchester United. The Croatian international was charged with "deceiving the referee" by UEFA yesterday, triggering a storm of protest from Wenger. But the Gunners chief opts to do without Eduardo for this evening's Barclays Premier League match as his side tackle a United line-up missing both Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen as Sir Alex Ferguson plumps for a major reshuffle from the champions.
Today's teams
Man Utd: Foster, O'Shea, Brown, Vidic, Evra, Valencia, Fletcher, Carrick, Nani, Giggs, Rooney Subs: Kuszczak, Neville, Owen, Anderson, Berbatov, Park, Scholes
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Eboue, Denilson, Song Billong, Diaby, Arshavin, van Persie
Subs: Mannone, Eduardo, Ramsey, Silvestre, Wilshere, Gibbs, Bendtner
It may be very early in the season, but there's no doubting the importance of this game. Arsenal were widely written off before the start of the season; supposedly too weak to compete and in danger of losing their Champions League spot to upstarts Manchester City. A storming start has seen that bleak outlook revised, although their mental strength remains questionable.
Manchester United may have been weakened by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo but, as the showed against Wigan last week, will be incredibly hard to depose from their spot as the best side in the league.
