Sol Campbell holds the key to keeping Wayne Rooney quiet

There is little argument he is one of the frontrunners to win the Player of the Year award this season, along with Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas.

Whoever has the biggest impact out of these two will decide the game - and both sides are fortunate to have two of the world's best footballers.

Rooney is the focal part of United's attack and is taking his chances. It wouldn't surprise me if he scores again, everything he seems to be touching is going in.

I've always said Rooney could score 25 to 30 goals in a season if he played as an out-and-out striker and Sir Alex Ferguson has had to play him up front because Dimitar Berbatov has not been playing well and Michael Owen has just been a bit-part player. The system with Rooney as a lone striker is working for him.

But he can be stopped. One of the best ways Arsenal can do it is by keeping the ball as far away from him as possible. Rooney said today: "If I don't get the service I can't score", and if he gets frustrated and starts looking for the ball then it would be good for Arsenal because you'd rather see him drop back into the midfield area than pick it up on the edge of the area.

If he drops too deep then Arsenal will like that as there will be no one ahead of him. I believe United will play a very European-style game. They will be nice and tight early on and play five in midfield, with two players supporting Rooney whenever they can. So cutting out Rooney's supply will be key, meaning Arsenal will have to be strong in midfield as well as on the flanks.

However, Arsenal haven't been helped by losing Thomas Vermaelen to injury. In all likelihood that means Sol Campbell will be up against Rooney, although Wenger may decide to play Alex Song back there now he his back from the Africa Cup of Nations.

Sol will be under the spotlight. Wenger will expect his experience and positional sense to see him through but it is a worry that he has played so little football recently. If he was facing Didier Drogba, Wenger wouldn't have a doubt of putting him in. But because he is against Rooney as well as other players who are quick and mobile, he may prefer Song to play at centre-back.

The onus is on Arsenal to take the game to United and I think they will do just that. It will be important for Fabregas to find some space and I'm sure he will do. It just depends how many times he gets on the ball.

Like Rooney, he has been hugely influential on his team. I watched him against Bolton recently and he was never off the ball, he was great. United will be aware that sometimes the most dangerous time will be when they have the ball because Fabregas can drift into space and when Arsenal get it back they will feed it to him. It will be unlike United to man-mark someone but I think we'll see Darren Fletcher in and around him when they lose the ball.

Arsenal have to take their chances. They will create them but one of the things they are guilty of is not being as clinical as they should be.

Against United you have to be because they will expose you at times and have two or three opportunities. If they do that, Arsenal could be in trouble.

The pressure will be on both sides because of the way Chelsea have been playing. Neither of them can afford to lose. Chelsea will beat Burnley and that will leave United and Arsenal going into the game four and five points behind them respectively. Of course, Arsenal will then play Chelsea next week, with Liverpool a few days after that. If Arsenal are four points off Chelsea at the end of this hard run of games, Wenger will take that.

He will believe they have a chance of winning this League and that is what he will tell his players. If they are seven or eight points adrift, it will be too big a gap to close.

* Betfair's big transfer window signing Andy Gray is now sharing his opinions at
www.betfairfootball.com where you can read his weekly tips and match previews as well as his monthly podcasts.