Man United 0 Arsenal 1: Arsene Wenger's Arsenal provided the best possible response to the crisis talk swirling around north London by scoring a deserved victory over old rivals Manchester United.
The Gunners had to wait until the 86th minute for Emmanuel Adebayor to find the finish to hand them their first win of the season, which also punctured United's 100 per cent record. But no-one could deny them their triumph.
Virtually from start to finish, Wenger's men dominated and they would have been ahead much earlier had it not been for the heroics of debut keeper Tomasz Kuszczak, who included a first-half penalty stop from Gilberto Silva among a string of fine saves.
Of United's attack, only Cristiano Ronaldo looked a threat, yet even he was exposed at the end as Cesc Fabregas robbed him near the home box before setting up Adebayor for his match-winning effort, although it took a brilliant late save from Jens Lehmann to deny Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a leveller.
It marked the end of an eventful performance from Lehmann who, as usual, managed to combine the sublime with the ridiculous.
Once again, the German's temperament was called into question as he complained bitterly to referee Graham Poll about being crowded at United corners, clearly tugging John O'Shea's shirt back at one point, a particularly ill-advised move given Lehmann had already been booked for deliberate handball earlier in the contest.
However, the Arsenal keeper made a far more positive contribution when he kept out Ronaldo's fine shot on the turn.
Lehmann did even better to keep out a half volley from the United man just before the break although, in fairness, he could hardly claim too much credit since Ronaldo's shot caught him flush in the face, virtually knocking him out.
But he saved by far the best until last, flying to his right to produce the fingertip stop which prevented United nicking a point.
Despite such hefty involvement, Lehmann could not claim to be the busiest keeper on show. That accolade clearly belonged to Kuszczak who, as debuts go, had a pretty good one.
Presented with his first opportunity since arriving on loan from West Brom by the stomach bug which ruled out Edwin van der Sar, the Polish international was aghast to see Poll point to the spot when Adebayor tumbled over his prone body after the Arsenal man had won the race to reach Alexander Hleb's through-ball.
In hindsight, it was the best thing Kuszczak could have hoped for as he flung himself to the right to parry away Gilberto's penalty. Silva's shot was poor though and the save, as any could be in such circumstances, pretty routine. PA
