Arsenal & Man Utd set for Champions League battle

Arsenal and Manchester United are readying themselves for a titanic clash tonight at Old Trafford in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. Sir Alex Ferguson renews hostilities with his old enemy, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, and the Scotsman is wrestling with a selection dilemma.

Should he play it safe and attempt to close the tie out after scoring the odd goal, trusting his solid back line that features two of the Premier League's doughtiest performers in Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand?

Or should he throw caution to the wind, and field the destructive quartet of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez that so pulverised Tottenham at the weekend, scoring five goals without reply in just 22 minutes?

"There are plenty of options that I'm wrestling with," said Ferguson. "The performance in the second half on Saturday and the way Tevez's introduction to the team changed the pattern of the game - that has definitely not been lost to me."

But Ferguson will be mindful of the attacking threat that Arsenal - even shorn of the cup-tied Andrei Arshavin and the injured Robin van Persie - still pose, not least after they beat United 2-1 at the Emirates in November playing irrestible attacking football.

"They won't change," the Scot continued. "They'll do what they always do - and that's have a go. Football is all about taking risks. You can see how we've risked over the years. It's a part of Manchester United. You've got to risk to win games – it's not a problem for me, that. It's always worth it to win a game."

Even so, to commit to starting with such a lopsided eleven would be a high-risk strategy - but after 23 years and more than 30 trophies at Old Trafford, Fergie is no stranger to gambles.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Ian Ladyman, Daily Mail: "During 12 years of deep opposition to Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger has never admitted coveting anything connected with his great rival's reign at Old Trafford. 'Everyone thinks they have the prettiest wife at home,' Wenger once said. One wonders, however, how close he came to the trophy room as he arrived at Manchester United's stadium for a training session and press conference ahead of tonight's Champions League semi-final first leg between the sides.For it is two European Cups, more than anything, that define Ferguson's time at Old Trafford. And it is the lack of one that casts a shadow over Wenger's tenancy in north London."

James Ducker, the Times: "Asked whether he cared if the first leg of Manchester United's Champions League semi-final against Arsenal at Old Trafford this evening was an attractive game to watch, Sir Alex Ferguson snapped back. 'Of course I care, Christ Almighty,' the United manager said, as if the question was an affront to his principles. Like Arsene Wenger, his Arsenal counterpart and longstanding rival, Ferguson is committed to the art of fast, free-flowing football. It is a philosophy he holds dear and one that helped to dig United out of the giant hole they had created for themselves against Tottenham Hotspur in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday." ·