Premier contest

‘‘In football, you can never say never because it’s a sport of human beings,’’ he told reporters.

‘‘You want gladiators who are ready to go in with full commitment, big passion and with a relaxed attitude as well, because you need to be relaxed to be technical. Last season, it went a little bit overboard but I don’t think it will happen again.’’

Despite the furore, Arsenal ultimately reaped huge benefits from the 0-0 draw, which Wenger described as the turning point in his team’s season.

‘‘The way we responded was not right, but the fact that there was unity in the camp for me was fantastic,’’ he said.

‘‘That was the positive thing of the incident but the fact that we didn’t keep our control was not right.

‘‘We got a lot of negative publicity and as a manager you feel responsible for it,’’ Wenger added. ‘‘Despite some opinions, we were punished quite hard and the best response we gave was to win the Fair Play table.” (Reuters)

THE DIFFERENCE

Arsenal
The points: 11 points between them and United
The goals: They’ve already scored 20 goals more this season
The style: Enough said
The confidence: Same as above

Man United
The new boys: Rooney, Heinze, Smith have attitude to rock Arsenal’s boat
The history: United didn’t lose to Arsenal last season, and beat them in the FA Cup
The manager: Arsene Knows, as the banners say, but Ferguson has experience on his side.