Dean takes the points away from Arsenal at Old Trafford

Manchester United 2 - Arsenal 1.

The better team lost today.

Arsenal dominated the game, even without Cesc Fabregas, and took the game to the champions at Old Trafford only to see their efforts all crumble away in five minutes.

Mike Dean was a joke.

After failing to award a clear penalty where Arshavin nicked the ball past the clumsy and overrated Fletcher, Dean decided to grant a penalty when Rooney had booted the ball into the stands and played for the penalty, just like Eduardo did midweek against Celtic. Although there was contact with the Almunia, Rooney had no more right for a penalty than Eduardo did against Celtic as Rooney's touch had put the ball was far out of play. It was a joke of a call and Dean, who handed out 9 yellow cards in the game, is to blame for United's equalizer. He gave them a way back into the game. There is no other way around it.

Five minutes later, on a United free kick after a soft and arguable foul by Denilson, Giggs played the free kick terribly and overshot every red shirt, but Diaby, perhaps trying to play the ball back to his keeper, put the ball past Almunia into his own net. 2-1 United. Arsenal were shell-shocked.

Had it not been for a great save by Ben Foster early in the second half, Arsenal might have been 2-nil up, which would have been a fair scoreline. The Gunners played with purpose and were by far the better team today, and hopefully the unfair result won't damage their psyche.

With Vermaelen and Gallas in the middle, United rarely got a good chance to score at Old Trafford. This is a clear improvement from last year. Denilson and Diaby, who was solid and strong on the ball and had a good game other than the terrible mistake on the own goal, seem to be maturing into quality players. On the road against the champions, Diaby and Denilson controlled the midfield, dominating against the likes of Carrick and Fletcher.

Fletcher should have been yellow carded in the first half before his clumsy tackle on Arshavin, where he should have been sent off.

And Arshavin, who claims he is not in full fitness, needs to get fit quickly. He is a player who plays in spurts of energy, not controlling play for long periods of time with long runs but taking over moments with short bursts of energy. The more fit he gets, the more bursts of evergy he gets, the more goals Arsenal will score. He proved today with his goal that he is on another level of quality - above Rooney and Vidic and the rest. If fit, Arshavin is fully capable of being the best player in England.

Arsenal fans should look at the game like this: Had anyone told you at the beginning of the season that Arsenal would lose Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky, Walcott, and Vela to injury and still outplay and outclass Manchester United at Old Trafford, you would have taken it, regardless of the result.

The Premier League race is a marathon, not a sprint. If the Arsenal team the battled in defeat today is any indicator, this Arsenal team, a team that can take full control of a game at Old Trafford and lose it on bad luck and bad refereeing, is going to be in the race to the end.