Man Utd 2 Arsenal 1

As Arsene Wenger today reiterated his commitment to attacking, entertaining football, what may prove most telling is where Arsenal's third successive season without a trophy places his team in the eyes of his biggest rivals.

Wenger began surveying the wreckage of a season that has fallen apart in two months by defending his footballing philosophy and insisting the only thing his squad lacks is maturity.

"We want to continue the way we play but also improve and then the trophies will come," said Wenger, who conceded the Gunners' title hopes were over after falling nine points behind Manchester United.

"It was a very thin margin between winning and losing things this season. We play quality football because we feel it is the best way to win trophies. We lacked a little bit of maturity in some games. But I am confident if we gain that, we can win things," he said.

Arsenal's quality is undeniable but their demise around this time of the year is happening with alarming regularity.

Sir Alex Ferguson and Wenger have never exactly seen eye to eye, so it was not without significance that the United manager greeted his side's 2-1 victory at Old Trafford with a shrug and a firm handshake for his opposite number.

Previously, the pair rarely looked at each other when shaking hands but Ferguson had several words for Wenger and repeatedly patted the Frenchman on the back as the pair headed for the tunnel.

It smacked of the type of commiseration the Scot usually reserves for plucky sides who are labelled 'dangerous' rather than genuinely feared - as so many of Wenger's sides had been in the past.

"You couldn't ask for more from a team than what Arsenal produced," said Ferguson. "They have given their biggest effort and we still managed to win it." In other words, that was the best you could do Arsene, but we still picked you off.

The Gunners gave an admirable performance, dominating the ball for extended periods, but a clean sheet never looked likely and the semantics of their defeat took a familiar shape.

Indeed, yesterday's reverse bore many hallmarks of both the 2-1 defeat at Chelsea three weeks ago and last Tuesday's Champions League exit to Liverpool at Anfield.

The visitors started much the better and Emmanuel Adebayor was guilty of missing several good chances, while Jens Lehmann twice denied Wayne Rooney.

Three minutes after the break, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie combined for Adebayor to score from close-in, though replays showed the Togo forward appeared to handle the ball.

But just as a defensive lapse allowed Liverpool back into the game last week, William Gallas's reckless decision to handle Michael Carrick's pass in the penalty area gave the home side a lifeline at a time when they were struggling to exert consistent pressure.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a quiet match until United were ahead, ignored having to retake the spot-kick and the antics of Lehmann to haul United level.

If Wenger required a reminder of the strength in depth many feel Arsenal lack, United brought Carlos Tevez and Anderson on after 55 minutes as Ferguson looked to turn the screw.

And 18 minutes from time, a free-kick conceded by Gilberto allowed Owen Hargreaves to clip a delightful shot over the wall to win the game for United.

Wenger complained that the free-kick should not have been given and used it as more evidence to back up his theory that Arsenal have been harshly dealt with by referees in recent matches.

He said: "In the last two months we have had a blip, but we have not had much luck either and you could see that again yesterday."

Yet his criticism had a hollow ring and the reality is that the Gunners fell short in a pulsating match which encapsulated their season. They started so well, threatened to run away with it, before gradually running out of steam

"I feel we have done a lot for the promotion of the Premier League all over the world," said Wenger. "I am not an idealist. I want to win trophies and we feel there is not a big difference between us. We want to keep doing what we do."

But perhaps in the same way many sides feel Arsenal can still be intimidated physically, it appears their title challengers know the Gunners don't yet have the resilience to last the distance.

What did Ferguson say at the final whistle? "I will keep that to myself," said Wenger. The fact that his old foe was talking to him at all should cause the Arsenal boss concern. If Wenger fails to add the strength in depth required to keep a squad fresh at this time of the season, his side will not create a sustained challenge that would ensure the frostiness between the two longest-serving managers in the Premier League returned.

Then Arsenal would know they were in a title race.