For all the beauty and the bravery of Arsenal's football, for all the doggedness that again made the 11th hour their finest, it is difficult to envisage their regaining the Premier League title this season. Not with this back five. Manuel Almunia is hardly the calibre of goalkeeper you need at the top level and the rest of the rearguard, while good to excellent individually, have yet to knit. Nor are the central pair of Kolo Toure and William Gallas particularly well equipped for an aerial battle. Manchester United possess a more mature and balanced side. As do Chelsea, for that matter.
It was fascinating to watch nonetheless. Beforehand, a topic of conversation had been the theory that you never get an outstanding match at lunchtime, but this sagged only when, after Arsenal's first equaliser, it appeared to dawn on both teams that a draw would be no disaster.
The substitutions put that right and for Sir Alex Ferguson the satisfaction of putting one over Arsene Wenger must have been sweet. Wenger threw on Theo Walcott in an attempt to embarrass Patrice Evra, but it was the left back who prevailed by surging forward to set up — with the splendid assistance of another Ferguson substitute, Louis Saha — a goal for Cristiano Ronaldo.
While it could be argued that assertions of Arsenal's defensive vulnerability must be exaggerated in the light of their respectable record — nine goals conceded in 11 league matches, as compared with United's six in 12 — its full extent was revealed by not only United's second goal, but the most inviting opportunity afforded Wayne Rooney, who gave the ball to Ryan Giggs, received in return a rare peach of a right-footed cross and, despite extraordinarily loose marking, steered a header wide. Poor though Rooney's finishing was, he utterly outshone Carlos Tevez, whose replacement by Saha was no surprise.
Wenger seemed relieved. "We were not at our best defensively," he admitted, "and got caught with both goals." The first came from a low cross that travelled a long way without harassment and was not unusual in that. "United are a strong side," he added, "title contenders without a doubt. At all times they looked as if they could take advantage of any mistake we made. They have clinical players. But we are ahead of them [albeit only on the number of goals scored, which has been every Arsenal supporter's favourite criterion since 1989] and have a game in hand. By Christmas we shall know more."
He went on to observe that Chelsea had found "a new consistency" and they are the next fellow Champions League team Arsenal will encounter, shortly before Christmas, when they also welcome Tottenham to the Emirates for one of those derbies Wenger's predecessor George Graham used to argue were an additional obstacle strewn before capital competitors in the league marathon.
On this evidence, aerial weakness is more likely to undermine Arsenal's chances. Neither Gallas nor Toure was especially enthusiastic about being first to the ball and the contrast with United's defence, in which Nemanja Vidic's aggression is complemented by Rio Ferdinand's neatness, was noticeable. A team have to be strong in the air to win the English championship, which entails coming away from tough places such as Everton and Blackburn with points. Of late, Arsenal's attacking brilliance has enabled them to take a point (a week ago) from an even more rigorous examination at Liverpool, where Cesc Fabregas emphased his right to be regarded as the Premier League's most significant performer. But sometimes in the course of a season a team find themselves being pinned back and just have to keep heading the ball away. Surely Arsenal, who will surely recall the powerful Johan Djourou from Birmingham in midwinter. Almost at the start, they let Ronaldo head against a post from a corner and the problem was never rectified.
Fabregas was superb again yesterday, winning the ball and using it simply and being composed when his opportunity knocked. Eleven goals would be an acceptable return for a midfielder's season; the young Catalan has amassed the total with more than six months to go. Meanwhile Emmanuel Adebayor led the attack with skill and vigour, playing a crucial role in Arsenal's first goal, which, even more than the second, epitomised their virtues. There were classy contributions to the move from Adebayor, who had to adjust to collect Fabregas's short ball; Emmanuel Eboue, from whose chip Edwin van der Sar denied Adebayor; Bacary Sagna in squaring; and finally Fabregas in passing into the net.
According to Ferguson, his United made the clearer chances, and it was also true that they tended to take the fewer passes in doing so. The United manager was frustrated not to have won.
"We threw it away," he told the fair-minded viewers of MUTV, and, although the neutral might have put it differently, you could understand what he meant. His criticism of the referee was less convincing: Howard Webb gave a first-rate display. Even MUTV will show that.
