Rivals let their kids out to play

Manchester United and Arsenalwill dust down their reserve line-ups for a low-key renewal of their usually spiteful rivalry when they meet in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday. Managers Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger thrive on the mindgames surrounding what has developed into the biggest fixture in the English game but even they seem prepared to call a pre-Christmas truce.

They will assume the role of proud grand-parents watching from the touchline as the youngsters have their fun, the League Cup’s lack of relevance to the top Premier League sides completing a cycle for a competition launched in 1960 and promptly ignored by the leading teams. But Ferguson says his intention is to stick with the youngsters, despite having the chance to kick the Londoners when they are down.

In the real world of the Premier League, United ended Arsenal’s unbeaten run at 49 games last month in the latest bad-tempered edition of what has developed into a rivalry with little obvious mutual respect. (Reuters)