Tottenham 0 Manchester U 0:IF THE Arsenal of 2004 were the Invincibles, Manchester United might just go down as the Indomitables.

The unbeaten record in the Premier League continues despite their right-back Rafael da Silva being sent off by Mike Dean in the 73rd minute for a foul on Benoit Assou-Ekotto that was tame but also injudicious since he already had a booking to his name. In general the resistance from Alex Ferguson’s side was notable here.

They have had a lot of practice. The 10 away fixtures have ended in deadlock on all but two occasions. Goalless draws are also in the repertoire, as United have shown against close rivals such as Manchester City and now Tottenham Hotspur, as well as Sunderland. It may not embody the buccaneering history of United but Ferguson deals impeccably with the circumstances presented to him.

Wayne Rooney, while he did involve the goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes here and there, does not erupt into deadliness as he once did. Michael Owen and, for the time being, Javier Hernandez are regarded essentially as substitutes. Elsewhere Dimitar Berbatov is no predator, even if he has delivered more goals in this campaign than would have been anticipated. In view of the context, United are sensible to be a little more wary on their travels.

With hindsight it looks natural that Tottenham should be kept at bay. Their sequence without a victory over United now reaches back over 24 matches to 2001.

Each game is, of course, a separate event and there was little for the side to reproach themselves over in this result. United resisted exceedingly well, with Rio Ferdinand particularly influential. Steeliness is an asset that must be displayed in this stretch of the programme.

They will hope to reach the spring without allowing the pursuers real encouragement. Tottenham should be in good heart, regardless of such considerations. If they could not breach United’s defence, Tottenham made sure that the verve in their ranks was unmistakable.

Luka Modric embodied it best of all. With Rafael van der Vaart operating just off the centre-forward, with Peter Crouch preferred to Jermain Defoe for that role here, Modric can roam. His energy never flagged nor did his technique but an instant of deadly imagination was just out of reach. Tottenham did not find the equivalent of his sparkle anywhere else in the remainder of the line-up.

In that sense there has to be disappointment over the limited contributions from Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon and Van der Vaart. From United’s perspective that can be taken as further evidence of the efficiency with which they contained Tottenham.

It was a demonstration that Ferguson’s side had to give at greater length than they would have envisaged.

When Modric fed Alan Hutton in the 10th minute the right-back’s cross was met by Crouch, who had got in front of Ferdinand, but the attempt was wide. Two minutes from the interval Bale broke loose and Van der Vaart misdirected a header. The visitors, for their part, had much covering to do but still had enterprise here and there. While far from his best form, Rooney had twice tested Gomes by half-time. Four bookings at that stage also reflected the struggle for ascendancy.

After the interval United’s commitment to attack increased while they still had a full complement of players and, with 52 minutes gone, a low drive by Rooney from 25 yards had to be turned behind by Gomes. The visitors had begun with a 4-4-2 formation but an adjustment to a three-man attack, with Berbatov flanked by Rooney and Giggs, was an improvement.

The finer points of strategy were neglected once United’s numbers had been cut. It is proof of the order and resilience that Edwin van der Sar still had no need to be dramatic. This is, to some extent, a line-up under development by Ferguson.

“We defended very well,” he said afterwards. “They never gave us any trouble with their attacking. We didn’t bother them too much, we had one or two good opportunities at times when we got to the last third of the field, but we just didn’t quite have the cutting edge.”

The perfectionist also implied that victory might have been seized if Anderson had played a better pass once or twice on the counter-attack. Redknapp was at peace with events and sympathised with Rafael by terming the red card harsh. “We are not a million miles behind these other teams. We can’t be. We went to Arsenal and won. We have to believe we are not inferior to all of them. Those top five are close together and that is great.”