Samir Nasri was Arsenal's hero, who scored twice

The result will be a massive shot in the arm （胳膊上打了一针）精神鼓舞 for Arsenal’s confidence, having gone three games without a win before Saturday’s high-profile fixture 重要赛事.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger spoke of his pride in his team’s performance against "a great side".

He said Arsenal were "not faultless, but we were spot-on spirit-wise". In this phrase "spot-on" means exactly correct, while "spirit-wise" means relating to the team’s spirit 志气，斗志.

Dangerous Opposition  It was a fantastic game and we won against a great side, who were very dangerous going forward.   Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

Arsenal's Samir Nasri was the hero of the match, bagging 添进囊中 a brace 两个 of goals in both halves before teenage substitute Rafael Da Silva managed to claw one back 扳回一球 for Manchester United in the 90th minute of the game.

But the drama didn’t end there, as the referee awarded an unusually long period of injury time, after Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia was left concussed 受到严重震荡 following a kick in the head.

Wenger praised his team’s resilience 坚忍不拔, in hanging on 坚持 as United took the initiative 采取主动.

"We couldn’t finish the game off with a third goal, and we had six nervy 令人紧张的 minutes of stoppage time," Wenger told reporters.

The result leaves Arsenal third in the title race behind leaders Chelsea and Liverpool, with Manchester United in fourth place, but with a game in hand 手里还有一场球.

Magnifcent quality  Some of the football was magnificent and you won’t see a game as good as that anywhere in the country.   Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson

Even Manchester United’s legendarily grumpy 出了名的情绪不好的 manager Sir Alex Ferguson could not hide his admiration for Arsenal’s approach to the game.

"Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say that, if you’re going to be beaten, make sure it is against a team that plays footballs," Ferguson said, meaning it is less difficult to accept defeat when the opposition has played with an attractive, attacking style.

Arsenal have frequently been criticised for playing "beautiful football" (and losing games) instead of grinding out results 努力争取好结果.

However, in Saturday’s game they proved that they can play attractive football and still beat another top-flight 最高级别的，出类拔萃的 team.