former side and this time celebrated a goal
which reduced the 'Gunners's' lead at the
top to two and trimmed that ahead of the
defending champions to five. His name rang
around Old Trafford and you could tell he is now a United player after the goal. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had before
kick-off revealed sickness in his camp had
deprived him of defender Per Mertesacker
and midfielder Tomas Rosicky, while Mikael
Arteta was fit to start despite not feeling
too well. This may have slowed down the North London outfits pace in the first 45
minutes. But when Moyes' men finally got off from
their half, they knew handing out three
points would be a disaster against a side
which has had arguably the best week with
victory against Liverpool and another away
at Borussia Dortmund. Therefore winning was the only option for the 'Red Devils' and
their Scottish manager was glad his big name
strikers were in hand to put paid to the task.
It's been a great weekend- we've not had
many of them! This was a big result for us
today. Arsenal have been in terrific form
this season and we had to play well to get the
result. "The big players are coming up when they're
needed and Robin van Persie and Wayne
Rooney's games were two big performances,"
Moyes said in his media conference. "This is another step on the ladder. It's going
to be a while until I get it all the way I'd like
it. We're improving and getting better, and
we hope it will get much much better in the
coming months and years." Van Persie , who scored for United against
Arsenal in both fixtures last season
following his £24m, helped his side and the
fans avert disappointment by getting away
from Olivier Giroud to flick his header over
Kieran Gibbs on the post and into the net from a Rooney corner in the 27th minute.
Despite Arsenal's lack of goal threats in the
opening half, the Dutchman's goal was the
only difference at the break and Wenger's
boys necessarily started the second-half
with greater purpose but couldn't get a
leveler despite some few attempts- including two untouched Bacary Sagna's
crosses. All said, United were good defensively and
held their markers with real intents all in a
bid to prevent their opponents from diving
ahead in the table with an eleven point lead. "We started very well then at the end our
determination, effort and commitment
helped us when we were under more pressure. "We gave them too much room in the second-
half but restricted them in the first.
Overall, it's three important points," Moyes
opined. Head injuries to Arsenal goalkeeper
Wojciech Szczesny and Manchester United
skipper Nemanja Vidic held up play twice
before half-time, and just at a time when
the debate on Tottenham's decision to allow
Hugo Lloris play on after collision with Everton striker Romelu Lukaku at Goodison
Park rages on, the Arsenal keeper received a
lengthy treatment and was able to carry on
following a clash of heads with United's Phil
Jones. Moyes confirmed that Vidic, who got to his
feet but went straight off before half-
time after being caught on the head by
United keeper David de Gea as he punched
clear, went to the hospital. "Nemana Vidic has gone to the hospital. I
didn't see how bad it was from the touchline
but I know it was a terrible clash. I'll find
out more from the medics later on," added
Moyes. The Old Trafford 'singing section' played
their part but the regular crowd support at
the United crowd did not lose its voice and
Moyes was delighted adding: "I was pleased
for the crowd inside Old Trafford- that was
fantastic today and hopefully they've enoyed a really good result.
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