Graphic: tactical analysis

On those nights when their eyes meet across a crowded coaching seminar in a dull provincial Swiss town, it is a shared appreciation of the beautiful game that leads Arsène Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson to exchange pleasantries and observations where once there were only barbs. Their newfound entente cordiale may, as with most truces, be fragile, but in a business increasingly overrun by roundheads, they have come to regard themselves as cavaliers battling against a common enemy.

Their war is against football by attrition and their devotion is such that even their tribal loyalties were put aside on Saturday afternoon. Wenger, while lauding a victory that was essential to the morale of his young Arsenal team, declared that this was above all “a game for people who love football”, while Ferguson called it “fantasy football, playground stuff”, adding, remarkably, that he would prefer for Manchester United to be beaten by a team with similar beliefs than by a more malevolent force whose aim is to win at any cost. A José Mourinho team, for example.

Wenger once referred to his philosophy as playing sans frein à main – without the handbrake – and it was the perfect description for a game such as this. When it comes to the propaganda battle, this kind of spectacle – arresting, compelling, magnificent stuff right up until the sixth and final minute of stoppage time – can help to restore faith in football played “the right way”, but, as the dust settled, there were nagging feelings of doubt.

This may, in terms of technique and flair, have been the finest exhibition of football in the Barclays Premier League this season, but can either of these teams hope to win the title playing this way? Or does the handbrake have to be applied once in a while, for safety’s sake?

Apart from the embarrassing knee-jerk culture that surrounds modern football - and that applies to newspapers and boardrooms as much as it does to supporters - the past week or two has taught us nothing we did not know. Arsenal are a supremely talented young team, who, on their day, can perform at a level that few can match. Yet they remain a team whose inexperience and lack of mental and physical strength mean that they will drop points more often than Wenger or their fans would like. Their unwillingness to play with the handbrake remains their greatest selling point and their main flaw.

After a blip that led even sane judges to ask whether Wenger was cracking up, this was the perfect fixture for his team and it provoked the perfect response. The Arsenal manager suggested that, seven days after being harassed into furious submission away to Stoke City, United’s open, attacking style made them the ideal opponents, although he might not have felt so had Wayne Rooney, twice, and Michael Carrick not missed clear goalscoring opportunities in the opening ten minutes.

It was after those let-offs that Arsenal began to play with a purpose, a conviction and a zeal that had been missing of late. William Gallas, Wenger’s unlikely choice as standard-bearer, started to act like a captain; Denilson, 20, who is few people’s idea of a holding midfield player, performed with an intelligence that belied his years; Abou Diaby’s marauding knocked Anderson and Carrick out of their stride; Nicklas Bendtner, while his shooting was awry, gave Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic problems; and, best of all, Samir Nasri showed that it is not just his background, born to Algerian parents in Marseilles, that has earned him the unwanted nickname of the new Zinédine Zidane.

It was Nasri, with the aid of a deflection off Gary Neville, who gave Arsenal the lead in the 22nd minute, but the half-time score could have been anything. The difference, as Wenger conceded, was that Arsenal scored first and then, crucially, struck again three minutes into the second half, Nasri again beating Edwin van der Sar after a fine passing move.

United did not give up. Cristiano Ronaldo should have reduced the arrears within a minute and Rooney, who has reverted to type by failing to score in five matches since his flurry of goals a month ago, was profligate. It was Rafael Da Silva, the young Brazilian full back, who finally pulled a goal back for United in the 90th minute with a beautiful left-foot shot.

The final whistle, six minutes later, brought joy and immense relief to the home crowd and even Ferguson congratulated Wenger on his team’s contribution to a magnificent spectacle. But it would not be to every taste. Mourinho and others on the Uefa elite coaches’ forum would have been shaking their heads. As a glance at the league table this morning may testify, it did not always feel the stuff of champions.

Arsenal (4-1-4-1): M Almunia 6 - B Sagna 6 W Gallas 7 M Silvestre 5 G Clichy 7 - Denilson 7 T Walcott 6 F Fàbregas 7 A Diaby 7 - S Nasri 8 N Bendtner 7. Substitutes: A Song (for Walcott, 78min), L Fabianski (for Almunia, 79), K Touré (for Diaby, 86). Not used: J Djourou, A Ramsey, J Wilshere, C Vela. Next: Aston Villa (h).

Manchester United (4-4-2): E van der Sar 5 - G Neville 5 R Ferdinand 6 N Vidic 5 P Evra 5 - C Ronaldo 6 M Carrick 6 Anderson 5 Park Ji Sung 6 - W Rooney 5 D Berbatov 6. Substitutes: Rafael Da Silva 7 (for Neville, 63), R Giggs (for Anderson, 72), C Tévez (for Rooney, 77). Not used: T Kuszczak, J Evans, J O’Shea, Nani. Next Stoke City (h).

Referee: H Webb Attendance: 60,106