PICTURES

WEBMASTER'S COMMENT

"This match was a disaster for Utd. Alex Ferguson played Giggs alongside Yorke to provide space for Blomqvist but it backfired big time. The midfield was left prone to stinging runs from the likes of Vieira and Arsenal destroyed United. On the up-side, this would be the last victory for Arsenal over United all season."

MATCH REPORT

By Bill Pierce, PA Sport.

Nicky Butt was sent off for the second time in five days as Manchester United took their latest pounding from champions Arsenal at Highbury. And Alex Ferguson's battered team left North London in a mood as black as their sombre away strip after the Gunners reproduced the football that won them the Double and broke United's dominance of the domestic game last season.

Butt, dismissed for handball in Wednesday's Champions' League draw with Barcelona, had to take the lonely march again after tripping Arsenal's rampaging French midfield star Patrick Vieira six minutes into the second half. It was a harsh decision from referee Graham Barber because Vieira still had plenty of work to do even though he was beyond the United defence when racing onto Nicolas Anelka's pass.

But by then Arsenal's dominance had long been established with first half goals by skipper Tony Adams and Anelka. Once Butt saw red, the rest was a formality but United to some extent held their ground for the remaining last half-hour

The champions roused finally themselves to construct a third goal, lobbed home by their new £3million signing Fredi Ljungberg who had been on the field only five minutes as a substitute for Anelka. It was United's first Premiership defeat of the season but their fourth in a row against the Gunners and the Highbury crowd revelled in the visitors discomfort. Such a prospect would be horrific for Ferguson, who had to take responsibility for a tactical ploy that backfired badly.

He tinkered with his line-up, playing Ryan Giggs up front with £12.6m new signing Dwight Yorke to give Swedish flyer Jesper Blomqvist a starting berth on the wing. But as the match started running against his side, Ferguson was left with no options on the bench, with strikers Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole not even deemed worthy of seats there.

Arsenal, who had suffered the frustrations of five successive draws, ripped into United from the start. Lee Dixon had a goalbound blast blocked in the second minute and then Dennis Bergkamp volleyed over after Butt and Peter Schmeichel lost the thread of their defensive cover.

Giggs, as central support striker with Yorke, showed some familiar silky touches, but Adams and Martin Keown locked both of them in an iron grip, distributing the ball neatly for Vieira and Stephen Hughes to charge forward. Overmars was a constant menace down the left and put one good chance in the side-netting after Stephen Hughes - a magnificent deputy for injured Emmanuel Petit - played him in.

But Adams' opener, his first goal of the season, emanated from the right where Hughes curled in a free kick after Blomqvist's trip on the raiding Dixon. The Arsenal captain brushed off the ineffective Jaap Stam to power home an unstoppable header.

United just could not cope with Arsenal's midfield drive and industry and were lucky not to concede a second goal in the 22nd minute when another lovely ball by Hughes was ferried on by Overmars and Anelka for Bergkamp to stab inches wide.

David Beckham, predictably booed by the Arsenal fans every time he touched the ball, launched a couple of his free-kick specials from distance without troubling David Seaman's quality and the frustration showed when both Beckham and skipper Roy Keane were lectured by the referee for disputing decisions.

Arsenal rode their luck when Beckham struck a beauty from 20 yards after Yorke squared the ball to him, the shot curling back across the area after slamming into Seaman's right-hand post. But Arsenal took charge with Ray Parlour firing just wide after another smart link with Overmars, before Anelka brought a marvellous one-handed save from Schmeichel in the 43rd minute.

The young Frenchman, who missed a hatful of chances to bury Lens in the Champions League on Wednesday, must have thought his luck was out again. Deja-vu was the clear feeling when Overmars put him clean through a minute before the break and Anelka's saw his shot again parried by Schmeichel. But this time fate smiled on the Frenchman and he buried the rebound with a flourish.

Keane, booked for protesting about Butt's dismissal, and Beckham whose occasional genius was flawed by too much posturing, could have been even more severely dealt with had Surrey official Barber applied the letter of the law he imposed on Butt.

Beckham, who went down from a challenge which saw Hughes booked, seemed to extract revenge in a later clash but escaed with a warning. Then Keane barged the Arsenal midfielder to the ground with the ball a long way distant but once more the referee decided only a warning was necessary.

POST MATCH REACTIONS

Referee Graham Barber said he was prepared to look again at his controversial decision to dismiss Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt from today's Premiership clash at Arsenal. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger admitted the red card, for Butt's foul on Arsenal striker Nicolas Anelka, had proved a pivotal point in the game as the title holders repeated their 3-0 Charity Shield triumph.

Barber, according to Sky Sports, felt Butt had challenged Anelka from behind and denied the Frenchman a clear run on goal. However, TV replays seemed to suggest that United centre-backs Henning Berg and Jaap Stam were providing cover and the decision may have been wrong.

"It was one of those where I wouldn't have complained if he had shown a yellow card," admitted Wenger. "It was a difficult decision and the referee has to make it very quickly."

Wenger was happier to reflect on Arsenal's fourth successive victory over United and claimed they had a psychological hold over the team they succeeded as Premier League champions.

"Every game is different but we know we can beat them, which was important before the game," he said. "We got our game back against Lens in midweek and we got on top of United early on today. If we had lost it would have been four or five games without a win. Even at 2-0 they were always a threat but the sending-off probably killed them off."

It was a generous opinion but one Ferguson rejected, insisting his side had been completely outplayed.

"It wasn't a tackle from behind but I don't think you could say it cost us a chance because I didn't think we were going to get back in it anyway. Arsenal were far more determined than us. I was very disappointed with the way we played. They were the better team in all departments and I have no complaints with the result, Arsenal deserved to win."

But the United boss admitted he was very disappointed with the sending off of Butt.

"It wasn't a tackle from behind that's for sure. We talk about full-time referees all the time, but will it improve?"

With a North-West derby against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Thursday, Ferguson has little time to revive his embattled troops - although he insisted he was looking forward to the challenge.

"That is what management is all about. There are great ups and downs and you only have to look at the last week to realise that. We had a fantastic game against Barcelona on Wednesday, probably the best match in the Champions' League. We are part of that but today was a different experience. Hopefully we will have a different experience again on Thursday."

TEAMS

Arsenal: Seaman, Winterburn, Dixon, Adams, Keown, Hughes, Vieira, Parlour, Overmars, Bergkamp, Anelka.
Subs: Ljunberg for Anelka
Scorers: Adams (13), Anelka (43), Ljunberg (80)

Manchester United: Schmeichel, G Neville, Irwin, Stam, Berg, Butt, Keane, Beckham, Blomqvist, Giggs, Yorke.
Sent Off: Butt (50)

Referee: G Barber