Ref fails to hit right spot for Wenger

To be fair to the referee, it was a difficult game to officiate with players from both sides contesting so many decisions. Sir Alex Ferguson said: "For a long period it seemed that Patrick Vieira was in charge of things."

But United were not innocents in this matter. They had their own provocateurs. The truth is that players from both sides question the referee's decisions so frequently in these matches that, when it really matters, their complaints and protestations count for little.

Campbell's reaction when birthday boy Rooney - 19 yesterday - tumbled to the ground told you everything you needed to know about the decisive moment in the match. The Arsenal defender was genuinely gobsmacked, but it carried no weight with Riley. "Rooney told my players afterwards that he'd not been touched," said Wenger. "They have a feeling of deep injustice. They feel frustrated, but I think it will make them stronger.

"We were the better team but the penalty was the turning point. Before that we looked the more likely to win the match. It feels like we've been robbed."

Riley, one of the Premiership's most experienced officials, has a history of awarding the home side penalties at Old Trafford. He once gave United two in one game against Liverpool.

It was a shame that Arsenal should lose their proud record in such an unedifying manner. If United had played well and deserved their win it would have been easier for the Arsenal fans to accept. But the fact is United barely deserved a draw. While the game remained goalless Arsenal always looked the most likely to score. This was because United desperately needed all three points to close the gap on Arsenal and the more desperate they became the more risks they took.

This, of course, presented more and more attacking opportunities to the Gunners. But while they had a lot of possession they were unable to get behind the United defence. One of the reasons for this was the outstanding form of the centre-back partnership of captain Ferdinand and Mikael Silvestre.

Ferguson, still hoping to sustain a title challenge to Arsenal, and watching England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson must be delighted with the form of Ferdinand after his eight-month suspension for missing a drugs test. The England defender did as much as anyone to bring Arsenal's unbeaten run to a halt.

Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry had goalscoring chances in a taut, fractious match and although Arsenal's football was altogether superior that will be little consolation today as they come to terms with the loss of a unique record.

Van Nistelrooy's penalty and Rooney's tap-in goal in injury time might have satisfied the Old Trafford loyalists but Ferguson knows that more big improvements are required if United are to re-ignite their Championship hopes.

Arsenal remain two points clear of Chelsea and eight ahead of United and although they have finally surrendered their record they should be proud of the new standard they have set for themselves - and for everyone else in the Premiership.