Manchester fights tooth and nail to keep Arsenal at bay

Wayne Rooney reacts after scoring on a penalty kick during the 58th minute of a contest between Arsenal and Manchester United Saturday.

Match of the week: Manchester united 2, Arsenal 1

The highly anticipated battle provided a little bit of everything; goals, a plethora of yellow cards and a gasping finish that almost ended in a late equalizer.

Even though both teams were missing key players — Arsenal was without captain and young superstar Cesc Fábregas while Manchester United missed their stalwart middle defender Rio Ferdinand — the sides were close to even and the play was first class throughout.

The match began with Arsenal dominating the first half in both possession and shots on goal. In the 40th minute, the Gunners capitalized as midfielder Andrei Arshavin blasted a right-footed shot from well outside into the top right of goal. It was a superb strike from the Russian, yet Manchester goalkeeper Ben Foster should have done better, as he narrowly tipped the ball into the top of his own net.

Ironically, just a minute before the goal, Arshavin should have been awarded a penalty kick after being cut down in the box by Darren Fletcher, but instead, the referee opted to let play go on.

Arsenal had a chance to double their lead early in the second half, but Robin van Persie’s close-range shot was blocked magnificently by the outstretched leg of Foster. Arsenal would later rue this missed golden opportunity.

In the 58th minute, Wayne Rooney found himself one-on-one with Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia. Rooney went down after a slight clip from the goalie, yet unlike the instance with Arshavin, this time the referee awarded a controversial penalty to United. Rooney calmly sunk the kick and the match was all square at one.

Four minutes later, Arsenal almost regained the lead as Van Persie’s left-footed free kick came crashing off the crossbar. But once again, Manchester United took advantage of an Arsenal missed chance.

This time, though, it came with a bit of luck, since Arsenal’s Abou Diaby headed a harmless free kick taken by United captain Ryan Giggs into his own goal while trying to clear the ball out of bounds. Manchester United was in full control of the match from that point until the dying seconds of stoppage time, where the Gunners managed one last ditch effort.

After a long ball played into the United box, Arsenal defender William Gallas headed it down into the path of van Persie, who took a few nifty dribbles and promptly scored.

Arsenal players and Coach Arsène Wenger were jubilant as they thought they had found a late equalizer, but it was not the Gunners’ day, Gallas was adjudged a fraction offside.

After the thrilling finish, United can breathe easier as their 2-1 win puts them in third place in the English Premier League. Arsenal is still in fine position since they have collected six points from three games, enough to claim the fifth spot on the EPL table.

Other matches:

Liverpool may have salvaged their season after Steven Gerrard scored a late winner against Bolton to pull the Reds to victory from behind, 3-2. The top two of the league remained unchanged as Chelsea destroyed Burnley 3-0, while Tottenham continued their surprising start to the season by beating Birmingham 2-1.

In Spain, gigantic spenders Real Madrid began their 2009 campaign with a win, beating Deportivo de La Coruña 3-2. $100 million signee Cristiano Ronaldo scored on a penalty kick in his La Liga debut for Madrid.

Meanwhile, in Italian Serie A, the hyped Milan derby between two powerhouses turned into a blowout as Inter decimated AC Milan, 4-0.