English Premier League - Big Match

Title contenders Arsenal and Man United face off in a must win situation for Arsene Wenger. His side let slip a 4-2 lead to draw 4-4 at home against Spurs in the dying moments of last wednesday derby match. Then lost shockingly 2-1 to a determined and aggressive side.

Its still early season, but Wenger knows a win for Man United will make his hopes of catching up with the leaders even more slim.

First Half

Arsenal also made a disastrous start as their clumsy keeper Almunia mysteriously decided to pick a back pass by former Man United defender, Mikael Silvestre. But they escaped after Anderson's shot from the indirect free kick was blocked by his own team mate Park Ji Sung.

The following moments of the game flew by as both teams played free flowing football, as Arsenal was determined to beat Man United to claim back their title credentials. And Man United were certainly not just pushing back, with Ronaldo and Rooney in particular, constantly applying pressure from the front.

The latter was guilty of missing a clear cut chance when Ronaldo made a perfect square pass to him, unmarked in the six yard box. But Rooney ballooned the ball over, much to his frustration.

Despite Man United's earlier dominance, Arsenal took the lead after a weak clearance by Berbatov from an Arsenal corner only managed to find an unmarked Nasri. His fierce shot caught Gary Neville's lingering knee and deflected past Edwin Van der Sar before he could see it.

Wayne Rooney missed a few long range shots which only added to his frustration, and nearly added to his yellow cards count when he kicked at Walcott's leg after chasing back to defend. But Howard Webb only gave a warning.

Second Half

The second half continued the exhilarating style of football and 2 minutes after the break, Nasri scored his and Arsenal second goal, letting off an unstoppable shot pass Van der Sar after some fantastic passing by Arsenal, which ended with Fabregas's through pass to Nasri at the edge of the box.

Ronaldo almost pulled a goal back for Man United. Park Ji Sung long cross found him unmarked which just Almunia to beat, but his side foot shot went agonizingly wide of the far post.

Man United push forward more and more men to get back into the game and this enabled Arsenal to counterattack more often. At one instance, Nicklas Bendtner skipped past his markers but only managed to rocket his shot sky high. Man of the match Nasri also looked to earn a penalty after some determined running against Vidic who seemed to have tugged his shirt, but Howard Webb could not see the foul from his angle.

Young brazilian defender Rafael replaced Neville to bring more attacking flair to Ferguson's side. And he did scored in the 89th minute letting off a superb shot pass Almunia's replacement, Fabianski, after a Man United corner was only cleared onto his path.

6 minutes of injury time was given, mostly for the injury to Almunia, but Arsenal held on the win they preciously needed, which enabled them to leap over Man United to 3rd place.

But the game will be more remembered for its non-stop free flowing attacking style of play displayed by both sides. Kudos to both managers in such an important match.

Final score: Arsenal 2 - 1 Manchester United