Lacklustre and definitely second-best

MANCHESTER UNITED 2-1 ARSENAL
van Persie 3 mins, Evra 67 mins, S. Cazorla 94 mins
Rooney missed pen 45 mins
Wilshere sent off 69 mins
Att: 75,492

It was a crisp, fine start to the day in Manchester. As Old Trafford opened up its turnstiles, one name was on the mouth of every supporter entering the stadium: Robin van Persie.

Arsenal headed into today's game off the back of a 7-5 victory in midweek against Reading, though it was plain to see that the game at Old Trafford would pose a different challenge. Manchester United had lost only twice in the Premier League this season prior to today's game, but had won their remaining seven games. What's more, in-form striker Robin van Persie, would be starting against his old club.

The game began, and the first goal was conceded before any of the players had a chance to catch their breath. ROBIN VAN PERSIE pounced on a mistake by Arsenal skipper, Thomas Vermaelen, to drive home a powerful low drive into the bottom left corner. Much criticised for his summer move to United, Van Persie demonstrated professionalism in not celebrating in front of the travelling Arsenal fans.

After this, the Arsenal appeared to be in shell-shock, not managing to muster anything meaningful in front of goal; indeed, the half proved a spectacle for United goalkeeper David de Gea, who barely had a save to make. The United defence, despite having Nemanja Vidic, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling sidelined, looked to be in total control, snuffing out any approaches made by the Arsenal front-line.

While United's defence were relatively comfortable, they were always looking for any opportunity to attack the rather lackluster Arsenal defence. Andre Santos appeared to be struggling with the sheer speed of United's Antonio Valencia. Being constantly pulled out of position, the neat, quick passing from United always seemed to unlock the Arsenal defence, and it would appear that Arsenal fans cannot wait for the return of first-choice Kieran Gibbs.

Jack Wilshere was booked for 'unsporting behaviour' on in the 14th minute, as a frustrated Arsenal midfield failed to gel properly. Furthermore, with Theo Walcott on the bench, one may ponder the choice of Aaron Ramsey on the right-wing, given the Welshman's recent run of bad-form.

As the first half began to draw to a close, United were awarded a penalty. A blatant handball by Santi Cazorla gifted United a golden opportunity to go into the break two goals to the good. Van Persie opted not to take the spot-kick, and in his place stepped United talisman Wayne Rooney. Having scored a hattrick in this fixture last season, all but everyone expected him to convert the penalty. However, Rooney blazed wide, completely missing the target. The half-time whistle went, and though United were only a goal ahead, they needn't have worried themselves too much, as an Arsenal side lacking confidence trudged into the dressing room.

The teams reconvened for the second half, and it was plain to see that Sir Alex Ferguson wanted more goals from his side. United rained shots in on the Arsenal goal in the early stages, but still Arsenal escaped. In the 51st minute, Arsenal made their first change, Aaron Ramsey being replaced by Theo Walcott. After the break, Arsenal appeared to come out of their shell and managed to attack the United defence - Olivier Giroud struck the post in the 54th minute, and it seemed that Arsenal needed to build on this chance if they wanted to steal a point from the game.

However, despite this chance, Arsenal didn't look like scoring against this United defence. A neat move from  the Arsenal midfield sent Andre Santos through down the left-side with time to pick out a cross, but he could only blaze the ball out of play, a huge waste.

The game moved into the 65th minute, and United sensed they needed to score to squash any chances of an Arsenal comeback. And they did just that. Wayne Rooney worked a short corner before eventually sending in a cross that was headed in by United skipper PATRICE EVRA. 2-0 to Manchester United, and Arsenal staring down the barrel of another defeat.

A bitter blow for Arsenal, and matters only worsened when Jack Wilshere was dismissed in the 68th minute, a second bookable-offence doing the damage. The could be no arguments, as Wilshere clumsily barged into United goalscorer Patrice Evra.

The conclusion of the match seemed to be a foregone conclusion, as if delaying the inevitable. United's defence can be commended for a strong performance, though serious questions will be asked about Arsenal's ability in front of goal. Eventually, and somewhat miraculously, Arsenal did manage to score a goal in stoppage-time, SANTI CAZORLA sweeping the ball into the net beautifully from inside the box. But it proved to be too little too late, as Mike Dean's full-time whistle signalled the end of a comprehensive win for Manchester United. The only criticism of United would be that they did not score enough goals, but in reality, this is a much deeper issue in the Arsenal camp, who managed their three shots on target in stoppage-time.

This result moves Manchester United to the top of the Barclays Premier League, and sees Arsenal slump to 7th place, before the rest of the day's action commences. Next up for the Gunners is a tricky away game in Schalke, on Wednesday evening.