The blueprint for defeating United

On Sunday at Old Trafford, it is Arsenal's turn to tackle the problem and Arsene Wenger knows he must find a way to take all three points from the champions if his side are going to stand any chance of winning the title.

Lose and United will be nine points ahead of Arsenal with just four matches left to play and the race will be down to two. A draw, like the 2-2 result between the sides at Emirates Stadium in November, is no good to Arsenal, either.

But United have proved fallible against lower-ranked teams, with Sven-Goran Eriksson's Manchester City their chief tormentors with two victories.

The only London club to have enjoyed bragging rights over United is West Ham, whose manager Alan Curbishley has a great recent record against Sir Alex Ferguson, beating him in three successive games, including a League double last season.

To provide Wenger with some insight into the task ahead, Standard Sport has contacted Curbishley, Eriksson and Bolton's Gary Megson - the only other successful manager against United in the League - and asked how they did it.

ALAN CURBISHLEY, manager of West Ham, who beat Manchester United 2-1 at Upton Park on 29 December "The best way for Arsenal to play up there on Sunday is to be positive. They have to turn up at Old Trafford and really go for it.

"When we beat Manchester United last season it was my first match in charge. It was a very even game and we nicked it at the end through Nigel Reo-Coker.

"Then, in the last game of the season, we took a bit of a tonking in truth but we scored through Carlos Tevez and it gave us something to hold onto.

"As the second half went on, though, we had that one-goal advantage and grew more and more confident and passed it around quite well.

"The crucial thing is to score first against them although this season at Upton Park we actually came from behind. We started off well in the game but then Cristiano Ronaldo scored.

"He later missed a penalty and that kept us in the game. We got a surge of energy in the second half and in the last 25 minutes we got on top and scored from two set-piece plays. I believe Sir Alex even admitted afterwards that we deserved to win the game. "In their position, I believe Arsenal should go out there and play with freedom. A lot of people say Arsenal may be down after going out of the Champions League but for me, it won't be like that.

"I believe Arsene will have done his work and they will be in a positive mood after Tuesday night because they can look back to the two Champions League legs and say that, had a couple of refereeing decisions gone the other way, they would probably have gone through.

"When United give the ball away they go and pressurise you and expect to get it back. With Arsenal it might not be that easy. I would even think that United might be a bit cagey early on, because if you try and put the pressure on Arsenal, they can pass it around you.

"Whatever happens, though, I think it will be a really terrific game but the key for me will be who scores first.

"United are certainly in pole position but Arsenal in full flow are still a sight to behold."

SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON, manager of Manchester City, who beat United 1-0 at Eastlands on 19 August and 2-1 at Old Trafford on 10 February. "We had the right spirit and the right attitude. It was a great job both times. There's no trick to beating United. You just have to work hard.

"You know when you meet teams like this you have to have legs, track them down and not let them play football.

"If you let players like Cristiano Ronaldo have the ball, they are too good. You have to be aggressive and keep the team very compact. That is the secret, but keep it a secret, okay! We were perfect against United. We were extremely good in everything - attitude, spirit, tactics, aggression - we had the courage to keep the ball, go forward and score goals.

"Our players needed to be prepared to fight at Old Trafford. Arsenal will have to be at their best and play like they did for the first 30 minutes against Liverpool on Tuesday. But Arsene Wenger will have to lift his players after that defeat and that will be difficult after the way they went out."

GARY MEGSON, manager of Bolton, who beat United 1-0 at the Reebok Stadium on 24 November: " When we played United, the players and the crowd responded and that's why we were able to win. "Whenever any team comes up against United, it is their biggest game of the season and it is something that Sir Alex and his players have to deal with.

"We had everybody showing their best and the backing from our fans got the players really up for it."