IT BEGINS

“We were many points ahead but then lost our concentration
and forgot that Manchester United could still catch us. They
had a fantastic finish but we must look at what happened to
our own game. Maybe we were just a bit over-confident and
maybe that was our biggest problem. We know we should have
won the Premiership again. We were good to take the FA Cup
and we knew we had to do that when we came to the final
against Southampton because otherwise the whole season would
have been lost.

“United were not a superior side to us, but they were more
efficient. We needed to learn from that and I think we have.
This time we know we must focus and concentrate on
everything right to the very last kick of the season. We are
ready to do that. Everybody is fit and concentrated. We aim
to finish first in everything - and that starts on Sunday.”

Wenger has joined in, claiming that they were robbed:

“You have to credit United with an amazing finish to last
season. They won 14 of their last 17 games and drew the
other three. That is hard for any team to live with but also
a lot of things turned against us in the final weeks of the
season.

“It had nothing to do with Manchester United but there were
certain things that happened which I thought had no place in
English football. They were things that if you are being
fair you just cannot fight against.”

Fergie has given his opinion on Arsenal’s financial
situation:

“I'm sure they would like to have bought, but they are
lacking in funds at the moment because they have bought this
new stadium. It has put tremendous pressure on their club,
although I still think they will be one of our biggest
challengers. Tomorrow's game might tell you much about who
will eventually win it, but I'm sure it will be competitive
- Manchester United matches against Arsenal usually are.”