Match Report: Marseille 0-1 Arsenal

An injury-time goal by substitute Aaron Ramsey gave Arsenal a 1-0 win at Marseille on Wednesday that enabled Arsene Wenger's side to leapfrog their opponents to top spot in Champions League Group F. The Welsh midfielder applied a cool finish in the dying seconds of a forgettable game that had betrayed the fragility and lack of confidence that have plagued both sides' starts to the season. Marseille had not conceded a goal in the competition prior to Ramsey's intervention, but they now find themselves a point behind Arsenal prior to the return fixture at the Emirates on November 1. The chances of seeing both sides in the last 16 were further enhanced by Borussia Dortmund's unexpected 3-1 defeat at Olympiakos, however, which leaves the German champions bottom at the group's halfway point. Renovation work has reduced Stade Velodrome's capacity to 42,000 but OM's early-season struggles meant there were only around 30,000 fans present to see a match in which a sense of occasion was conspicuously lacking. Marseille sported their orange third kit, with Arsenal in uncharacteristic blue, and referee Damir Skomina added a liberal splash of yellow with early bookings for Arsenal pair Alex Song and Andre Santos and OM's Andre Ayew. Ayew's name was taken for protesting over Skomina's failure to award a penalty for a handball by Carl Jenkinson, and television replays suggested the hosts could count themselves unfortunate. Marseille had started strongly but their goal was the first to be threatened, with Souleymane Diawara obliged to clear a looping header from Robin van Persie off the line. For all their endeavour, OM were toiling in attack, but Loic Remy provided a flash of brilliance on the half hour, jinking inside Per Mertesacker and Jenkinson from the byline before his shot was blocked by the latter. Moments later it was Lucho Gonzalez's turn to draw gasps from the Arsenal fans, as he stole in front of Mertesacker to toe Mathieu Valbuena's cross across goal and wide. Lucho and Ayew sparked an unseemly scramble in the Arsenal box minutes shy of the hour, before a defensive error by Nicolas N'Koulou almost gifted the visitors the opening goal at the other end. The Cameroon centre-back allowed the ball to run beneath his foot, giving Walcott a clear sight of goal, albeit from a narrow angle, but OM captain Mandanda saved with his feet. Mandanda then denied van Persie, but Marseille looked to be safe until Ramsey was gifted acres of space on the left-hand side of the OM area and calmly placed the winner inside Mandanda's right-hand post.

Arsenal 1 Udinese 0

Arsenal laboured to a 1-0 win over Udinese in the first leg of their Champions League play-off at Emirates Stadium, which left more questions than answers over life after Cesc Fabregas. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger - who watched from the stands as he served a touchline ban - had called for a response from his young squad following the sale of their captain back to Barcelona. It seemed he would get just that when Theo Walcott, under the watchful eye of England boss Fabio Capello, swept the home side in front after only four minutes. However, from then on, Arsenal never really got into any sort of rhythm as Udinese grew into the game. Indeed, the Italians will feel frustrated the industry of captain Antonio Di Natale did not bring them an away goal to take back to the Stadio Friuli next week. Before then, the Gunners must regroup for the visit of Liverpool on Saturday, when they will again face a stern examination of whether they can indeed go on to challenge for honours. It has all started so well when Walcott's early strike settled any nerves. Marouane Chamakh won the ball just inside the Udinese half, with Bacary Sagna playing a clever chip over the defence for Aaron Ramsey to run onto down the right. The Wales skipper looked up, before clipping the ball across goal, where Walcott arrived at the near post to sidefoot past Samir Handanovic. It should have been 2-0 soon after, but Thomas Vermaelen, skipper for the night with Robin van Persie suspended, and Gervinho - set to serve a three-match domestic ban for his red card at Newcastle - got in each other's way at the far post following a corner. Walcott, in the headlines for revelations about England duty from his new book, was booked for a foul on Piccoli Neuton. It was almost a costly lapse in concentration as Udinese captain di Natale curled in the free-kick from 30 yards, which looped off the crossbar. Arsenal were let off again on 25 minutes when Alex Song lost possession on the edge of the Udinese box after a corner, and Pablo Armero sprinted clear on into the Arsenal area. Wojciech Szczesny, though, stood up to make a fine save, with Song then having tracked back to block Mauricio Isla's follow-up effort. Udinese continued to look the more lively as half-time approached, with di Natale shaving the outside of the post after making space for himself in the six yard box. Arsenal were forced into a change at the restart, with Johan Djourou replacing England defender Kieran Gibbs, reported to have a tight hamstring, and Vermaelen switching to left-back. The Swiss international was soon in the thick of the action, sliding in to block di Natale's close-range effort. However, Djourou did not last long, as he limped off after 54 minutes to be replaced by Carl Jenkinson, the youngster making his debut following a summer move from Charlton. Jenkinson - who was playing non-League football on loan at Eastbourne Borough last season - was outmuscled by Isla, as the Chilean charged into the right side of the Arsenal area, but could only fire across goal. Udinese sensed Arsenal were there for the taking, as Armero fired an angled drive over from 20 yards. Walcott spurned a great chance to ease the pressure when he latched onto a defense-splitting pass from Ramsey, but the England forward mishit his first-time chip, which bobbled horribly wide. Wenger - who had been sending messages to the dugout via assistant Boro Primorac - made a final change when Tomas Rosicky was replaced by defensive midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong. With 15 minutes left, Szczesny made a flying save to beat away a curling 25-yard free-kick from di Natale as again Arsenal were forced onto the back foot. Walcott almost made it 2-0 in stoppage time, but was denied by a fantastic reaction save from Handanovic as Arsenal had to be content with just the slenderest of margins to defend in Italy next week.

Arsenal 1 Manchester United 0

Arsenal blew the Premier League title race wide open as leaders Manchester United were deservedly beaten at the Emirates Stadium.Aaron Ramsey's winner early in the second half condemned United to defeat and leaves them only three points ahead of Chelsea with identical goal difference - and a meeting between the two to come at Old Trafford next Sunday.Forced to rebuild his promising career after suffering a broken leg, Ramsey made the most of a chance to deputise for injured captain Cesc Fabregas with a goal that will have been met with almost as much joy at Stamford Bridge as it was in front of Arsenal's fans.

Victory was well-earned reward for their superiority against a United side that never looked like repeating the heroics of their Champions League semi-final first leg victory against Schalke 04 on Tuesday in Germany.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger must have thought the fates had conspired against him when they were denied a clear first-half penalty after Nemanja Vidic handled Theo Walcott's cross.

But the game concluded with United manager Sir Alex Ferguson angry at referee Chris Foy after substitute Michael Owen was hauled down in the area by Gael Clichy in the closing moments, only to have his appeals ignored.It is a win that has probably come too late to revive Arsenal's own title aspirations, but one which gives Chelsea real hope that they can retain their crown if they can beat United next week.
Ferguson cut a frustrated figure throughout, a mood matched by his players as they rarely got to grips with an Arsenal side they have enjoyed so much success against in the recent past.
Arsenal lost Fabregas to a thigh injury sustained in training on Saturday - but his absence did not stop the Gunners dominating a first half that concluded with them nursing an acute sense of injustice.

 FERGUSON DEMANDS 25mins INJURY TIME

Vidic, a central figure in every sense, was fortunate not to be punished for an uncharacteristic error after only three minutes.In attempting to clear, he only succeeded in finding Jack Wilshere and was relieved to see the teenager pull his effort inches wide.
And Walcott could not keep a close-range shot under control as he stretched to meet Clichy's cross, sending it well over the top of Edwin van der Sar's crossbar.
United have had joy against Arsenal in the past by lying deep before striking with devastating effect on the counter attack.
And they almost delivered a sucker punch in the face of Arsenal's early superiority when Fabio da Silva burst into the area unmarked, but was unable to find Javier Hernandez.

Arsenal, with justification, were furious just after the half-hour when Vidic clearly used his hand to direct Walcott's cross away from the incoming Robin van Persie - an offence missed by the officials.
England striker Wayne Rooney's main contribution had been a yellow card for fouling England team-mate Wilshere just before the interval.He did show his enduring quality with a curling 25-yard free-kick after 48 minutes, but the previously unemployed Wojciech Szczesny was equal to the task with a diving save.Arsenal finally got the goal they had merited after 56 minutes, Ramsey sliding a low finish into the corner of the net from Van Persie's incisive cut-back.United, thoroughly out of sorts, replaced Anderson with Antonio Valencia moments before the goal.They did muster a response, however, when Vidic rose highest from a corner to head just wide.And in a belated show of urgency by United, Szczesny was then forced to save well from Nani after Rooney had driven deep into the Arsenal half in a bid to lift his team-mates from their slumbers.With three minutes left Ferguson and United's players were reduced to a fury as Owen was brought down from behind by Clichy as he raced into the area.Referee Foy, much to Ferguson's obvious disgust, was unimpressed.It was Arsenal's last anxious moment before closing out a win that leaves the title potentially on the line when United confront champions Chelsea, who narrowly beat Tottenham 2-1 on Saturday.