Gary Neville has warned Arsenal that their 49-match unbeaten run in the Premiership will count for nothing when they run out at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Manchester United full-back has been involved in enough encounters between the two biggest forces in English football over the last decade to know that form tends to have little impact on the outcome of the titanic tussles between them.
Arsenal have made a blistering start to the season and have already opened up an 11-point advantage over a United side that has struggled for goals all season.
But Neville insists the Red Devils self-belief remains intact.
”We hope to beat Arsenal,” he said.
”It is not a case of if we can beat them. We do believe that we’re a team that can beat Arsenal at Old Trafford. We know we are going to have to handle what they throw at us, but we know we can cause them problems.”
The match is being widely billed as one United must win to prevent the Gunners romping away to a second straight title.
But Neville does not believe the pressure will get to him or his team-mates.
”I’ve not played a game at Old Trafford in 12 years that hasn’t been a must-win. Sunday is no different for the players in that respect,” the England defender insisted.
A less than convincing display in a goalless Champions League draw with Sparta Prague in midweek was hardly ideal preparation for United.
But Ferguson was cheered by the return of Paul Scholes to his starting line-up and, provided skipper Roy Keane recovers from a virus that forced him to miss the trip to Prague, the Scot should have a near full-strength squad to choose from.
Arsenal in contrast are currently beset by the kind of injury worries which undermined their opponents’ start to the current campaign.
Midfielders Robert Pires and Edu are both doubtful with ankle injuries incurred in a bruising Champions League encounter at Panathinaikos in midweek.
Patrick Vieira is virtually certain to miss the match after limping out of last weekend’s win over Aston Villa and Wenger’s midfield options are further restricted by the longer-term absence of Gilberto Silva.
Thierry Henry however has vowed to shake off his own ankle problem in time to line up in the biggest match of the season so far.
The French striker’s eight goals in the Premiership so far this season mean he has scored only one less than the entire United side have managed but he shares Neville’s view that the current gap between the two sides is closer than a glance at the league table would suggest.
”All the time people-try to write them off but they are always around at the end of the season,” Henry said.
”And it is only the tenth game of the season so it is still very early. I know it is
all exciting but it is early.”
Interest in the Old Trafford clash has been spiced by the memory of what happened in the corresponding fixture last season. A goalless draw was marred by a post-match fracas in which gleeful Arsenal players goaded Ruud van Nistelrooy over a late penalty miss.
The scenes resulted in record fines for the London club but Ferguson reopened old wounds this week by claiming they had been let off lightly by the Football Association.
That prompted a withering response from Wenger, who appealed to his adversary not to inflame the pre-match atmosphere unnecessarily.
”As managers we have a responsibility to prepare this game in the way it should be,” the Frenchman said.
”That means as a football game, not a game with resentment and unneeded aggression. That is most important and both managers have responsibility.”
Regardless of the outcome on Sunday, Arsenal will remain top of the table at the end of the weekend thanks to the five-point cushion they currently enjoy over second-placed Chelsea.
The Blues, who lost for the first time under Jose Mourinho at Manchester City last weekend, will be hoping United can end Arsenal’s unbeaten run and will be confident of taking all three points against struggling Blackburn at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. – Sapa-AFP