Man Utd rally to beat battling Arsenal 2-1

Aug 29, 2009 - 7:35 PM By DANIEL ROSE STATS European Football Writer=

LONDON (SE) - Abou Diaby's own goal and a penalty by Wayne Rooney helped champions Manchester United come from behind to defeat Arsenal 2-1 at a jubilant Old Trafford.

Diaby headed past his own keeper from a Ryan Giggs free-kick on 64 minutes, five minutes after Wayne Rooney had thumped a deserved penalty he won himself past Manuel Almunia as United bounced back from Andrey Arshavin's 40th minute thunderbolt.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was quick to praise his side and singled out midfielder Darren Fletcher as his side's unsung hero.

Ferguson said: "Wayne got the man of the match but I think he will give it to Fletch \2013 he was outstanding today.

"He is a big match player and he was fantastic again today and he broke up so much of their play.

"Wayne is obviously in great form as well, but I thought across the pitch today we were fantastic.

"Arsenal will be a tough team to beat this year so this is a big result for us, but there are so many games left to play you can't rule anyone out."

United, who started with both Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov on the bench, looked tired and devoid of ideas in comparison to a lively Arsenal side that dominated large chunks of the first half.

Arshavin was at the heart of everything, and just two minutes after having a good penalty shout turned down on 38 minutes, the diminutive Russian smashed home a 30-yard drive that United keeper Ben Foster got his hands to but couldn't keep out of the net.

Foster redeemed himself moments after the break, when a smart reflex save kept out a close-range Robin van Persie effort.

The equaliser came just before the hour when Rooney burst into the penalty area and was brought down by Almunia.

Rooney converted the penalty with aplomb and the Gunners, arguably the better team until the equalising goal, looked visibly deflated.

The winner came just five minutes later when Diaby inexplicably headed into his own net to send the Old Trafford crowd into rapturous applause \2013 mixed with the odd howl of laughter.

The match threatened to spill over \2013 as Manchester United and Arsenal clashes have in the past - as the yellow card count rose.

Both sides continued to press for a goal but with the clock running out, the frustration got too much for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who was sent to the stands after kicking a water bottle in anger after a late van Persie effort had been disallowed for off-side.

Wenger refused to let the defeat derail his side's promising start to the season.

Wenger said: "The players showed a good spirit on the pitch today I thought.

"We did not get the decisions we deserved but that is what happens in games like this.

"Despite the result I am still very positive because I believe we have shown great quality today. The performance was very encouraging for the future.

"There is always risk that this may affect us, but we are strong enough to deal with it and there were more positives than negatives from today."