Arsenal v Manchester United (Emirates Stadium KO 12.45)Alex Ferguson spoke of a "mouth-watering" prospect regarding this lunchtime's clash at the Emirates Stadium and conceded he has rarely taken a Manchester United team into such a defining contest in better shape.

Yet the United manager sounded a cautionary note to the young pretenders on display, informing Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas, Cristiano Ronaldo et al that their claims to greatness cannot be realised until they deliver consistently and on the international stage.

"In a few years' time I want to be saying that my players are the best in the world because at this moment in time they are showing those signs," said Ferguson. "But maturity brings the authority and consistency, and what is also important is what have they won?"

But while Ronaldo and Rooney can answer Ferguson with the Premier League medals they helped return to Old Trafford last season, it is their manager's core philosophy to demand more. And not only from his own recruits.

"Time will tell on Fabregas and the same applies to my own players, Rooney, Ronaldo, Nani, Anderson and Tevez. They are all at an age where their future is in front of them," the United manager added. "Can they win the European Championships, are they playing in World Cup finals? These are all the things that Pele, Cruyff and Maradona were judged and rated on and these are the challenges for these young players. Any young player with potential must always be judged that way."

But these were the words of a manager who, as he name-checked Keane, Vieira, Henry and van Nistelrooy among others, accepts the Arsenal manager has revived their rivalry at the top of the Premier League and knows his team must respond.

The United manager said: "Both teams will be hellbent on making sure they win, which is the mouth-watering aspect of it. I couldn't be going into a big game in any better shape - but then I'm sure Arsene Wenger is saying the same about his side."

Michael Carrick, Louis Saha and Patrice Evra are all available after injury to strengthen United.

"I felt Arsenal could mount a challenge at the start of the season and that's proved correct," the manager added. "But it's a long season and you will have dips in form, which I've experienced many times. The test is what is in the trophy cabinet at the end of the season. That's the best way to judge it. Arsenal are no different from us, Chelsea or Liverpool. They're judged on what they win."

Wenger anticipates the world will witness footballing "art" when the top two Premier League sides clash, with the Frenchman relishing the prospect of a return to the days when clashes between the teams were pivotal to deciding the destiny of the title.

Not since the explosive collision at Old Trafford in October 2004, when Wenger's "Invincibles" lost their 49-match unbeaten league record and a mass post-match brawl in the tunnel prompted the infamous Pizzagate incident, could a game between the sides be billed as a contest between top contenders.

"This is a game between two teams playing flowing football at high pace, and that's always worth watching," said Wenger. "The game can become an art when that happens, and you should never miss that.

"The commitment in these kind of games is always very high, but the characteristics of the players are a little bit different. I have missed this game [ being so important] highly because I don't put the effort in to finish fourth.

"It had dropped off for a while because we were not good enough in the last two years. In the last 10 years, a lot of games between us ended up being the deciders for the championship. At the moment, these two teams have been the most consistent again."

The contests had become frenzied affairs, known for the confrontations between Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane, Martin Keown and Ruud van Nistelrooy, and even the touchline bickering between the managers. Wenger and Ferguson have endured a fractious relationship, although the antipathy has mellowed.

Asked whether emotions could boil over again today, Wenger replied with a smile: "I cannot give you any guarantees. In the past, sometimes, it has been hotter [ between the clubs] . . . . If it went overboard, then we have a duty to stay quiet. It's sacred.

"This fixture will fire us up because we know the game will be intensely competitive. That's all that matters, not what happens before or after the match. But it has calmed down, first of all because we haven't been competing directly with them, so games were not really deciders. That calms it down. I don't know Ferguson well enough to say that I am friends with him, but I respect him for what he has done, and for what he is doing."

The pair increasingly share the same philosophy. Both have implemented a policy of recruiting young foreign talent, and both have embraced an attack-minded style.

"This year we have both started well, but it is too early to say Arsenal and United are the only contenders," said Wenger. "What is important is we keep our style. We are a very young side, but we are hungry."