Decisive moment in the great race

THERE IS invariably a decisive moment in every great race.

In the long haul of the Premiership it almost certainly comes tonight when Manchester United travel to Highbury for a domestic encounter which is the football equivalent of a world heavyweight title fight.

If Manchester United win and go six points clear at the top of the Premiership with just four matches remaining for them and five for Arsenal, then an eighth Premiership title is almost certainly bound for Old Trafford.

A draw leaving United three points clear would still make them resounding favourites, while an Arsenal win would leave both clubs level on points with the Gunners holding the advantage of a precious game in hand.

Whichever way you look at it there are a myriad of possibilities, every one of which make a nonsense of Alex Ferguson’s claims last week that at times the domestic league can be “mundane”. There is nothing remotely routine about a fixture which travels to the core of everything Ferguson and Arsène Wenger have worked for.

For Ferguson victory, following the 6-2 triumph at Newcastle on Saturday, would be resounding proof that last week’s humiliation by Real Madrid in the Champions League was a blip and not necessarily an accurate barometer of the standing of United in Europe.

It is no secret that Ferguson and Wenger do not exactly see eye to eye. Their mind games are famous and frequent, though Ferguson’s dislike is also more basic.

Sure, it surrounds Wenger’s insistence in continually proclaiming Arsenal’s superiority, the starkest example of which was his declaration that the Gunners could go through the season unbeaten.

Ferguson, whose side have dominated for a decade, also riles at Patrick Vieira’s declared belief that Arsenal are the “greatest team in England”.

“To predict winning the title, however many games are left, is a bit foolish,” says Ferguson.

Mostly, though, Ferguson’s view of Wenger as distant and aloof comes from the Frenchman’s resistance to sharing a comradely drink at the end of a match.

Arsenal, despite leading the Premiership for so long, have been unable to rekindle their early-season fluidity when at times the speed of their passing and ingenuity of their movement made them unplayable.

They were far from impressive against Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday and the physical scars Vieira carries from that match, which made him doubtful for Wednesday, may yet have a bearing on the destination of the Premiership title.

The Gunners need their captain to be at his inspirational best. He is the heartbeat of their team, the man who provides the surging forays which spark so many attacks while also supplying solid protection in defence.

For all the brilliance of Thierry Henry and invention of Dennis Bergkamp it is Vieira who would be the first player on Wenger’s team sheet.

There is little doubt he has taken over from Roy Keane as the Premiership’s most influential midfielder but Ferguson’s side, their Real Madrid blip apart, have been steadily improving in every department.

Paul Scholes is back to his impish best, Nicky Butt’s return has leant steel to midfield and if Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown still have room for improvement in defence then the form of strikers Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been sublime.

The comparison between van Nistelrooy and Henry is often dissected and the truth is they are both world-class spearheads with vastly differing styles.

Henry is swifter, silkier and capable of the genuinely unexpected but there is no-one better than van Nistelrooy at putting the ball in the back of the net.

That, after all, is the essence of the striker’s art and why I give United the slightest of edges in the season’s run-in.

Not surprisingly Vieira disagrees.

“I think we are a better team than Manchester United,” he says.

“Better at passing and better at movement.”

The truth will be revealed tonight.