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"Jonny Evans is ready to risk Sir Alex Ferguson’s wrath by playing for Northern Ireland with an injury."

That interesting quote appears on ManU's official website.

Match Preview: Arsenal

Undoubtedly the biggest game of the season so far.  While these games may have lost an element of the Keane-era ferocity it will still be a passionate affair, and a huge game for both clubs.

For United, there is our poor record against the big four last season, which needs working on, but it is also the first such clash without Ronaldo and Tevez.

Fergie has said that we can't afford to drop any more points this early in the season, and should we lose to Arsenal on home soil, the press are likely to view as proof United will not be title contenders, with their current squad.

For Arsenal it is a big test too. Much has been made of their ability to put multiple goals past woefully inadequate Everton and Portsmouth, but United at Old Trafford is a different proposition. Will the young Gunners deliver on their early season hype?

Injuries at the back mean it is not an ideal time to face Arsenal with so much at stake, (though the Gunners are likely to be without Fabregas) and I am expecting a very tough game for United. Equally I am looking forward to seeing how the new look United fares against high calibre opposition. Victory would mean so much more than three points.

Defence

Despite set backs, United have conceded less goals than Arsenal, despite playing a game more - thanks in no small part so some great work by Ben Foster. Obviously Van der Sar's experience would be handy today, but Foster's growing stature means it is less of a concern as it could have been.

Fit again Wes Brown could return, the question is whether to the right back slot he made his own two seasons ago, or to relieve Jonny Evans in the centre. Given that Evans is having injections to make it through games, and has needed to be substituted, it seems to make more sense to avoid a forced change later in the game and rest Evans completely, putting O'Shea or Neville in at right back.

Midfield

The strong performance by the United midfield at Wigan (Fletcher Scholes, Nani, Valencia) points to making few changes, but given that Wigan are not Arsenal, a different line up is likely. Park's relentless running seems crucial to disrupting Arsenal's rhythm, so he seems a safer choice than Valencia for this tie.

The question is, will Michael Carrick's unexplained absence continue? Must be Red will be listening with interest when the team sheet is announced. In a game when harrying and closing down will play their part in stopping Arsenal, it seems a shame that Anderson as well as Carrick is out of form and out of favour.

The fluid nature of the Gunners 4-3-3 means there will be a lot of running for the Reds midfield. Despite Paul Scholes' undoubted qualities, I wonder whether he would be able to keep up these days.

Yet given that Giggs did not feature in the Wigan game, the Welshman seems due a return, be it in the centre or out wide. Who knows, maybe we will even get another one of these?

Up Front

Despite Owen's first goal it's almost bound to be Berbatov and Rooney again. It was great to see Dimitar chasing back and nicking the ball off defenders in the Wigan game. While he's no Tevez yet, the fact that he looks hungrier this season can only be a good thing for United. 

With Owen off the mark it would be great to see him open his home account even if as a substitute. The winning goal would do nicely, Michael.

Patrick

11 points about the Birmingham match

1. Rooney's goal.  We all know the story: now Ronaldo's gone, we're expecting more goals from Wayne Rooney - especially as he's playing in his preferred position through the centre.  In which case, it was good to see him open his account on day two of the league, with his 99th goal for the club (you can watch it here).  Hopefully, there are many more to come.  Fergie certainly expects.

2. United's Zidane. There are plenty of plaudits for Rooney's overall performance yesterday - in the newspapers, on the blogs and from Fergie himself.  But the most eye-catching comes from the Brum manager, Alex McLeish, who said after the match, "Every so often natural footballers come along. You get players like Zidane and Platini and now there is Wayne Rooney."

3. Injury-hit defence.  What's wrong with our defenders at the moment?  They're dropping like flies.  United went into the day without Vidic, while Neville and Rafael are still recovering from knocks.  And then Rio goes and injures his thigh in training, and Jonny Evans hobbles off the pitch after 75 minutes.  Rio will be out for 2 weeks, but there's been no confirmation on Evans - the Beeb are reporting that the young Northern Irish defender was taken off as a "precaution", so hopefully he should be fit for the games ahead.

4. Defensive strength in depth.  Having said that, the defenders that are fit put in a decent performance.  Sure, Birmingham are no Real Madrid.  Sure, there were some shaky moments.  And, sure, Utd will never look as solid as when they have Vidic and Rio paired together at the back.  But captain-for-the-day John O'Shea marshalled his forces well, and Wes Brown and Ritchie De Laet certainly aren't bad options to have on the bench.  The clean sheet is testament to their efforts, as well as to a couple of decent saves by Ben Foster.  Despite some hints in the Times this morning, I'm not sure we need to be looking to the transfer market for defensive cover.

5. Goal-line clearance specialist.  Evra stopped one on the line against Chelsea last week, and then repeated the trick against Birmingham yesterday; getting in the way of Franck Quedrue's goal-bound header.  It capped what was an impressive performance by our left-back - reliable in defence but, also, one of our most effective attacking forces.  Just don't let him take any penalties.

6. Missed chances.  Typical United.  They dominate huge swathes of the game; should have scored a hatful; but only put one away, and end up enduring a more uncertain finish than they need have done.  Nani, Fletcher and Owen all had gilt-edge opportunities - although, to be fair, Owen's came when the match was pretty much over.  It's been said a thousand times, but bears repeating: Utd really do need to start converting more of their chances.  After all, you don't always get Birmingham at home.

7. Birmingham's best player: Joe Hart.  Of course, it didn't help that Birmingham's keeper (on loan from City) put in an impressive performance between the sticks.  Scott the Red, over at Republik of Mancunia, sums it up nicely:

"11 shots saved by the former City keeper, 9 shots off target and a further 10 blocked shots is all you need to know about what a frustrating day it was for us today. Hart was on form and their defenders were eager not to be embarrassed, so whilst I’d like to see us looking sharper in front of goal over the next few weeks, credit has to go to Birmingham’s defence."

8. Owen Watch.  After the Valencia game, Owen won't have appreciated that missed opportunity in the dying minutes of the match.  But he'll have taken heart from the positive reception Old Trafford gave him when he replaced Berbatov in the 74th minute.  I think most people expect the goals to come.

9. A confidence-boost for Foster.  After his wobbly performance at Wembley last week, Ben Foster needed a solid match to reassure both the fans and - you assume - the manager, his teammates and himself.  And that's what he delivered: some fine saves - especially from Christian Benitez late in the game - and less jitteriness with the ball on the ground.  Indeed, Fergie paid tribute to Foster afterwards, saying that, "We know he has ability and he proved that again today."  The perfect tonic for our stand-in keeper.

10. Same old Nani.  The Portuguese winger looked quite good against Chelsea last week - he really did.  But yesterday it was back to the same old Nani: wasteful in possession, lazy when off the ball, and sloppy in front of goal.  He partially redeemed himself with his cross for Rooney's goal.  But this wasn't the performance to make us forget a certain other Portuguese flyer.

11. Mighty Spurs!  United's performance may not have been the best, but a win's a win - and that win was made infinitely sweeter by Liverpool's defeat, later in the day, at White Hart Lane.  Last season, Benitez's men only lost two games.  One match down, and they're already half-way there...

Pete