Wenger finds an unusual ally

SOCCER:ARSENE WENGER found an unusual ally last night when his adversary Alex Ferguson offered him some much-needed support, not only resisting the temptation to turn up the heat on Arsenal's manager but lamenting the tendency of Manchester United supporters to taunt Wenger with songs depicting him as a paedophile.

"I think some of the chants that are being directed towards Arsene Wenger are ridiculous," said Ferguson. "The police should be doing more. They should be stepping in. But Manchester United and its supporters should also know very well the chants that have been levelled at us over the years - ie songs about Munich [air disaster] - and understand the sensitivity that is felt by members of this club. I don't agree with it at all. There's enough to think about and admire in the game without resorting to denigrating people."

Ferguson has had his own problems with Arsenal's fans, albeit not on the same scale as Wenger at Old Trafford, and he welcomed the news United's backroom staff would receive extra security at the Emirates today in the wake of his complaints about last season's fixture. "That's quite right because it was nasty and pretty unsavoury."

While disagreeing with Wenger's accusations about Arsenal's last opponents Stoke City - "they are not a dirty team," he said - Ferguson was reticent to say anything that could be construed as even mild criticism of Wenger's team and, in particular, the man he once memorably described, in his most sarcastic voice, as "the great Arsene Wenger".

He also scoffed at the suggestion a United victory today could put Arsenal out of the title race. "Crikey me, it's only November. There is still a long way to go. The fact is it's difficult to get results when you have players out and Arsene has players out. If you think for a minute we are . . . thinking it will be easy because Arsenal have a couple of players out, then you're wrong."

Ferguson acknowledged "for the last six years Arsenal's football has been excellent" and he shrugged when it was put to him Wenger's team no longer had the physical presence of old. "You could say the same about ourselves. We've got more of a football-playing team than we had 10 years ago." That, in part, is because of Owen Hargreaves' injury problems and Ferguson revealed his midfielder was in Colorado to see the knee surgeon Richard Steadman.

• Guardian Service