Arsenal made it abundantly clear to Manchester United yesterday that the Premier League title is not merely on loan to Highbury until Old Trafford wants it back. Showing signs of the form which brought the club a second Double last season, Arsene Wenger's team brushed past a listless, shapeless United side to repeat their 3-0 victory of the FA Charity Shield.
The absence of the injured Emmanuel Petit, out after suffering an ankle injury during last Wednesday's Champions League game in Lens, simply confirmed the class of Patrick Vieira, who virtually ran the match from start to finish.
The speed of another Frenchman, Nicolas Anelka, seriously exposed the slowness on the turn of Jaap Stam, Manchester United's £10.75 million signing from PSV Eindhoven. But while Anelka scored Arsenal's second goal on the stroke of half-time, Tony Adams having given them an early lead, it was largely his profligacy, combined with some excellent saves from Peter Schmeichel, which spared United an even heavier defeat.
To add to Alex Ferguson's discomfort, Nicky Butt was sent off for the second time in successive matches. Four days earlier, Butt had been shown a red card at Old Trafford after handling a goalbound Barcelona shot in front of the United net; now he was dismissed by Graham Barber for bringing down Patrick Vieira on the edge of the penalty area seven minutes into the second half.
The referee decided that this was serious foul play which denied the Arsenal man a scoring opportunity. That Stam had been in a position to make an interception had Vieira stayed on his feet made the decision a harsh one. Even the Arsenal manager said he would not have argued had Butt merely received a caution.
"According to the referee," said Ferguson, "it was a tackle from behind and Butt was the last man back. He was wrong on both counts."
Not that the Manchester United manager was prepared to blame the refereeing for his team's defeat. "The sending-off does not alter the fact that Arsenal were the better team," he admitted. "We were second best. There are some days when I can't find any excuses.
"We were tip-toeing into tackles. That was the main difference compared to Arsenal's performance. They were more determined than we were." Certainly Manchester United seemed collectively out of sorts. Yet a team selection which had Butt and Roy Keane, two worker bees in central midfield, and Ryan Giggs partnering Dwight Yorke up front, could have been designed to emphasise two of Arsenal's most enduring strengths.
Presumably the idea was that the speed of Giggs would test Adams while Yorke's ability to turn with the ball in tight situations would worry Martin Keown. All too often, however, the service to Yorke was aimed at his head when a player of this type needs passes to feet. As a result, the Arsenal centre-backs were scarcely tested.
Surprisingly, Ferguson did not bring on substitutes to improve the balance of his side. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose early partnership with Yorke had shown promise, stayed on the bench, along with Paul Scholes, who, admittedly, has looked jaded after the World Cup. Teddy Sheringham, whose goals had wiped out Arsenal's 2-0 lead in last season's match before David Platt headed their winner, was not even among the substitutes.
Instead, Ferguson left Jesper Blomqvist, the Swedish left-winger for whom United paid Parma £4.5 million, on for the duration. Yet only in the latter stages of the game, when Arsenal were starting to play out time, did Blomqvist make any sort of impression.
This is a bad time for Manchester United's form to dip. Held to 3-3 by Barcelona after leading 2-0, they will resume their Champions League campaign against Bayern Munich in Bavaria on Wednesday week. Before that, however, there is the small matter of Liverpool's visit to Old Trafford this Thursday.
"Hopefully, this performance will not be repeated," Ferguson said, and it will be surprising if Liverpool do not arouse the devil in his team's football which was missing yesterday. Compared to the omnipotence of Vieira, even Roy Keane, still regaining full match fitness after last season's long lay-off, looked subdued.
From the outset the briskness of Arsenal's passing and tackling looked like bringing them their fourth successive win against Manchester United. Bergkamp's form might be fitful just now, but he still produced the touches to open up space in the opposing defence.
The opening goal arrived in the 14th minute after Blomqvist had fouled Lee Dixon on the right. Stephen Hughes' well-flighted free kick found Adams leaving Keane and rising above Stam to head past Schmeichel, who for once had been slow coming off his goal-line.
Just past the half-hour Beckham gathered a pass from Yorke and from 30 yards drove a shot David Seaman did well to tip onto his left-hand post, leaving the Arsenal goalkeeper grateful to see the ball ricochet across the goalmouth to safety.
Had Manchester United kept the score to 1-0 at half-time they might have been able to salvage something from the game. But in the 45th minute Marc Overmars' through lob found Anelka spinning away from Stam to score at the second attempt, Schmeichel having saved his initial shot feet-first.
Butt's departure ended the game as a contest, and when Anelka, this time put through by Bergkamp, shot wide, that seemed to be that. Then Wenger brought on his latest signing, Fredrik Ljungberg, and within five minutes of coming off the bench the young Swede, set up by Overmars and Ray Parlour, had looped Arsenal's third goal high past Schmeichel.
Thus Charity Shield sunshine had brought a Charity Shield result. Manchester United must be impatient for the clocks to go back.
Arsenal: Seaman; Dixon, Keown, Adams, Winterburn; Parlour, Hughes, Vieira, Overmars; Anelka (Ljungberg, 80 min), Bergkamp. Subs not used: Manninger, Bould, Wreh, Garde. Goals: Adams 14, Anelka 45, Lungberg 85.
Manchester UTD: Schmeichel; G Neville, Stam, Berg, Irwin; Beckham, Keane, Butt, Blomqvist; Yorke, Giggs.
Referee: G Barber (Pyrford).
