PRE-MATCH HYPE

Time was that clinching the League and Cup double at White Hart Lane was as
good as it got for any fan of Arsenal. Relegation to a Manchester City goal at Old Trafford was Red Devil Hell to a United supporter. Derby matches were always the first dates in the diary when the fixtures were published.

Keeping up with the neighbours was everything. Local bragging rights could
trump any number of achievements on the bigger stage. But now the stage is all the world.

The major rivals to the major ambitions of Arsenal and Manchester United have
become Milan and Real Madrid. They compete against them in the Champions
League, in the transfer market, in the hunt for teenage talent in every corner of the globe. Their branded souvenirs sit side by side in all good stores from Boston to Beijing.

Last night I saw a news report from one of the most lawless and devastated
towns in Iraq and there was a shoeless child walking past the camera in his
United replica shirt. The head of marketing at Highbury will want to know why.

Manchester United versus Arsenal is England's new grudge match. Each is so
much of what the other want to be. United still have the fame and fortune,
Arsenal have moved in on their success and style. Any mutual admiration is
grudging in public but the private ambitions of the two institutions are clear.

Arsenal have invested heavily in a new stadium towards the end of catching
United at the box office. United have blown their savings on Wayne Rooney in
the hope of matching Arsenal on the field. Chelsea's unannounced arrival has
complicated the seating plan at the top table, but it hasn't stopped the other two constantly eyeing each other up over the silver service.

Arsenal's outrageous behaviour at Old Trafford last year not only escaped due
punishment but also somehow launched their title rocket.

It's Wenger's soul that is offended to the point that he sardonically suggests a
firing squad would not have been good enough for his accused.

This is not some playful exchange on the floor of the House. The two managers
do not readily apologise to anyone, let alone each other. What they say is what
they mean.

The harsh truth about this presidential contest is that Wenger and Ferguson are
not even running close in the polls. The twice annual summit meeting is taking
place with a wide crevasse separating the two high climbers. The source of their original disputes was a series of neck-and-neck races for honours. This time,
Arsenal start head and shoulders above United. And yet the rivalry remains.

The 11-point gap has only served to make it more like the family feuds between neighbouring clubs. There is history between them that clouds the national
picture.

Arsenal cannot afford for the game to descend into an unseemly scrap.
Flashpoints will do nothing either for their style or their reputation. In a showdown scenario with echoes of last season's FA Cup semi-final, it may suit United to get wired in and test out Arsenal's character and courage again.

Spices have been added to the cocktail since last season's skirmishes. Rooney
has never been one to turn the other cheek, Gabriel Heinze likes a tackle, Alan
Smith loves one. UN weapons inspectors have been called in to check the
players' studs ahead of kick-off.

This week I have conducted a straw poll of friends who support other clubs in an attempt to gauge the feelings of the average Huddersfield and Reading fan to Sunday's collision. To a man, they want Arsenal to win.

It is not a North-South divide. Legend has it that half of United's support cross
that border every weekend anyway. The country's two most successful clubs are just different, and those differences will not be resolved this Sunday or any
Sunday in the future. It's personal now.