Over the past week journalists and fans alike had been salivating over the Arsenal vs Manchester United fixture as we pondered the likes of Fabregas, Hleb, Walcott and Rosicky taking on Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney and Nani. Added to this wonderful set of players was the fact that both the teams have played near perfect football over the past few weeks.

Well, as expected with any of these big games, all the big players canceled each other out and what we got instead was a scrappy and tough game with few incidents of individual brilliance. But unlike a lot of previous fixtures between top teams, we also got a lot of goals and some heart stopping moments. The match ended 2-2 and judging by the match, it did seem to be a very fair result. However, the manner in which Arsenal rescued the point will probably mean that Arsenal will go forward with a lot more confidence than United.

And what a day for William Gallas and Patrice Evra! United’s first goal was a result of Rooney’s shot ricocheting off Gallas, just after Gallas’s header had almost led to Arsenal’s first goal. And his finishing and composure right at the death just showed why Wenger has so much trust in the Frenchman.

Credit to the managers:

One has to give a lot of credit to both Wenger and (especially) Ferguson for going all out for the win. One indication definitely has to be the substitutions both the managers made in the second half, when Ferguson sent on Carrick and Saha without resorting to the expected tactic of settling for the 1-1 draw.

Arsenal’s fluidity, in the absence of Thierry Henry was also quite visible as they attacked from four or different sides as players such as Hleb and Rosicky looked to impose themselves instead of finding Henry as they would have done last year. But full credit to the United midfield and defense for snuffing them out.

Going forward, it looks like, I definitely think its going to be (for once) a four way battle for the title with the onus on Chelsea and Liverpool to match the early pace set by Arsenal and United. Liverpool and Chelsea (and their fans) will no doubt be happy about the results and Liverpool in particular will need to start putting together a good run (starting with the Champions League in midweek) to turn around their recent dip in form.

Man of the Match:

A lot of people might disagree but Patrice Evra was my man of the match. He shrugged off the early booking and set up United’s second goal through his sheer determination. No wonder, Ferguson didn’t really mind packing off Gabriel Heinze to sunny Spain.