Head to Head

They were not supposed to be in direct competition, but Robin van Persie and Kieran Richardson spent much of the night niggling at each other in the kind of spat that has tainted the meetings of United's and Arsenal's first teams.
Richardson had one fierce shot that Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia did well to save but most of the former West Ham trainee's pot shots were saved for Van Persie. The Dutch youngster spent much of the night antagonising United and Arsene Wenger admits the 20-year-old needs to curb his temper.
Both players were booked by referee Mark Halsey for a clash at the start of the second half that sparked a mass display of the proverbial handbags. Whether the Football Association will follow Alex Ferguson's advice and charge Van Persie with throwing an elbow at Richardson remains to be seen. The shame for Arsenal was that we saw all of Van Persie's petulance and little of his talent.

Lupoli v Brown

United's Wes Brown won this contest in a match that was something of a reality check for 17-year-old Arturo Lupoli.
The Italian showed real promise in previous rounds against Manchester City and Everton. However, City's defence have been known to be charitable and while Everton's rearguard are muscular, they are distinctly short of pace.
Playing against England man Brown was a new world for Lupoli to conquer. The United man - in a defence with experienced internationals John O'Shea, Phil Neville and Quinton Fortune - was stronger and more decisive in the tackle.
Lupoli had no space and very little service. When he did get possession, Brown was always just feet away and the Arsenal striker did not have the wit or wiles to find a way past. Did at last get more big-match time than his former Parma youth team colleague Giuseppe Rossi, who played the last 11 minutes for United.

Flamini v Djemba-Djemba

Arsenal's Mathieu Flamini had one of the toughest tasks, dealing with an experienced Cameroon international opponent in midfield, and he was the the winner, hands down. The United faithful have yet to warm to either of the Djembas and one the fanzine has gone as far as to label him Jumbo-Jumbo.
That is not an jibe that could be levelled at 20-year-old Frenchman Flamini, who is Mr Perpetual Motion. If there is a tackle to be won, if there is an opponent to be pressed, Flamini will not be far away. With his young Swedish team-mate Sebastian Larsson not really at the races - and substituted after 72 minutes - Flamini was left to do most of the midfield foraging.
He looks a capable substitute for Patrick Vieira should he be called on to replace the Arsenal captain in two vital games next week - against Rosenborg and Chelsea.