Cesc - United scalp for boss

Cesc Fabregas has said that Arsenal's players owed their victory over Manchester United to manager Arsene Wenger.

The Gunners claimed a vital scalp against the Premier League champions on Saturday as Samir Nasri netted a brace in a thrilling 2-1 victory.

Wenger had come in for criticism after a disappointing 10 days, dropping two points versus rivals Tottenham Hotspur, losing at Stoke City and being frustrated against Fenerbahce.

However, the Frenchman's charges responded at the weekend to haul them back into the race for glory, and Fabregas believes the success demonstrates that they are genuine contenders to lift the title.

The Spaniard said: "We did it for the boss because he has believed in us. We owe him a lot and we have to show that on the pitch.

"Sometimes we lose and everyone says we are not good. Then we play the same way against United and everyone says we are good.

"The good thing about this team is that we have never put our heads down and felt sorry for ourselves. We want to get better, to play better, and we did that here.

"We definitely knew there would be some talk about Arsenal, 'Are they capable of winning anything?' But we don't have to be affected and we showed we are a good team.

"We showed great character against a very good team and still won under a lot of pressure. Arsenal are contenders. We want to win and we showed we have the qualities to do it."

Summer signing Nasri, meanwhile, beamed at the victory and also defended maligned boss Wenger, who brought the France playmaker to Emirates Stadium from Marseille this summer.

He said: "It was the greatest match of my career because of the huge rivalry between the two clubs and the importance of the game.

"We have had a tough week. We are a bit behind both Liverpool and Chelsea and this was a massive game. We couldn't have dreamed of a better result.

"All that criticism of Wenger is a bit unfair. We have just started the season and you can't really make any conclusions so far.

"He's one of the best bosses in the world and it's a great honour for me to play for him.

"Maybe we cannot yet match the experience of Liverpool, Chelsea or United, but this match was a great answer to show how mature we have become after last season and after the last few weeks this season."

I cant read that..... it is long......nd I am lazy.....