Arsène Wenger must know that there is something to worry about when Sir Alex Ferguson starts being so nice to him. Yes, there has been a truce of sorts between the Arsenal manager and his Manchester United counterpart since the infamous Battle of the Buffet at Old Trafford four years ago, when both had to be reined in by the authorities as their rivalry and the effect it was having on their players threatened to spiral out of control.

And yes, Ferguson was on his best behaviour yesterday with an FA charge of improper conduct hanging over him, one he suggested the governing body was “dying” to give him.

But even accounting for all those things, Arsenal supporters might have been perturbed by the lengths to which the United manager went, not only to toe a diplomatic line, but to protect and defend Wenger before the meeting at the Emirates Stadium this lunchtime.

Having been subjected to what he described as “nasty” abuse by Arsenal fans at the Emirates in the corresponding fixture 12 months ago, Ferguson claimed that the police need to take tougher action to protect managers from such behaviour and urged United fans to set an example and refrain from abusing Wenger, whom they have barracked with sickening chants in the past.

Ferguson believes that United supporters should know better than to direct disgraceful taunts at others in light of some of the disturbing songs that have been sung by opposition fans about the Munich air disaster, in which eight United players died.

“I think there's been a focus on fans' behaviour and the chants towards not just Arsène Wenger but other managers, too, are ridiculous,” Ferguson said. “I think the police should be doing more. They should be stepping in. Manchester United and its supporters should know very well the chants that have been levelled at us over the years, with Munich, and understand the sensitivity and criticism directed at members of staff.

“I don't agree with it at all [abuse of managers and club members] and hopefully our fans appreciate it comes to me, too. I would hope that other clubs would share the same views I do regarding criticisms towards the manager. There's enough to think about and admire in the game without resorting to denigrating people.”

Arsenal have increased the number of stewards around the technical area for today's match after Ferguson condemned the abuse he received there last season, especially from supporters directly behind him. “The stadium's too open for my liking - it's a weakness in the planning that you don't provide safety for the visiting substitutes and staff,” he said. “You need tin helmets. The fans are right behind you, that's the problem.”

Ferguson could probably stomach another barrage of abuse if United beat Arsenal and, in doing so, extend the North London club's winless run to four matches. But while the United manager rejected Wenger's bleatings about Stoke City, to whom Arsenal lost 2-1 last weekend - “When you play Stoke you know that you are going to be up against a different way of playing but it's not a dirty way ,” he said. “It's a very honest way of playing” - Ferguson was otherwise adverse to putting the boot in. Asked whether the present Arsenal team lacked leaders and were not as physically intimidating as previous sides put together by, Ferguson said: “You could say the same about ourselves. Our style has changed over the past few years, with different types of players. We've got more of a football-playing team than we had ten years ago. It changes.”

And when asked whether Arsenal's lamentable away record in recent seasons - they have lost 25 of their past 78 league matches on the road - was not good enough to win the championship, Ferguson cut the reporter off in mid-sentence. “I'm not here to talk about Arsenal,” he said. “I'm here to talk about Manchester United. My job is to look after Manchester United and I do that very well.”

Whether that sounded like a man who, despite trumpeting Arsenal's title credentials earlier in the season, no longer felt they represented a genuine threat to his club was unclear, but regardless of the form of and injuries to Wenger's team, Ferguson believes that his players will be in for a fight today.

“We are talking about Manchester United here, not Arsenal, because the game is critical to us,” he said. “We have got to win our games and be consistent from now until the end of the season. We have points to make up on Liverpool and Chelsea, so there's nobody here thinking about what's important for Arsenal.”