Arsenal tries to extend unbeaten streak
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-23 10:47

More than a record unbeaten streak is at stake when Arsenal plays at Manchester United on Sunday: The result could go a long way to determining who wins the Premier League championship.

If first-place Arsenal can stretch its undefeated run to 50 games by winning before a sellout crowd of 67,000 at Old Trafford, Manchester United would fall 14 points behind after 10 games this season.

"The Arsenal game is a must-win for us," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "There is a feeling in football that if we can't stop them, no one else will."

His team is 3-1-5 for 14 points, tied for fifth place. Arsenal is 8-0-1 for 25 points, five ahead of second-place Chelsea. One remarkable difference between the two powerhouse clubs: Manchester United has scored nine goals so far, Arsenal 29.

And defending champion Arsenal isn't just better on the field. They appear to be outperforming Man United off it, too.

The Gunners have a 60,000-seat stadium under construction. In the last four years, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has spent half as much as Ferguson — about $150 million vs. about $310 million — and won nearly as much.

With astute spending, Wenger has accumulated more stars than United: Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Sol Campbell, Jose Antonio Reyes, Dennis Bergkamp, Freddy Ljungberg and Edu.

United's top players are Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Alan Smith.

"I respect United a lot," said Henry, a French striker. "People try to write them off all the time, but at the end of the season they're always around. Although it's early — it's only the 10th game of the season — it's still exciting."

Wenger and Ferguson are as different as they come.

In public, they play up their differences: Wegner, a multilingual Frenchman known as the "Professor," and Ferguson, a dour, straight-talking Scotsman. A few days ago, Wenger tweaked Ferguson by saying his team was not as "good as the previous generation" of Man U clubs.

Ferguson has made a career of portraying Wenger as aloof, a guy who declines a drink with him after a match.

Liverpool owned the 1980s, Man United the 1990s, and Arsenal is trying to claim this decade.

"There is always the rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United and all the talk about the game," Ljungberg said. "Manchester United away is one of the games you look forward to for the whole season. It's going to be great fun, that's the way I see it."

Man United should be near full strength. Ferdinand is back after missing the 0-0 draw at Sparta Prague because of a family funeral. Ferguson is also expected to start Ronaldo, but Irish midfielder Roy Keane is doubtful with the flu.

Arsenal has injury problems.

Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva is out of the match. Vieira, the captain, practiced Friday despite an ankle injury.

Last year, the teams tied 0-0 at Old Trafford in a game that ended in a brawl. Four Arsenal players were suspended and the club was fined $320,000.

Ferguson rekindled the flames a few days ago, claiming Arsenal "got away with murder." Wenger shot back: "Maybe he thinks it would have been better to have us all put up against a wall and shot."

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