United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will have been frustrated by his side's wastefulness, with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo guilty of throwing away obvious openings.

It was United who had the first opportunity when Arsenal keeper Almunia inexplicably picked up a backpass from Mikael Silvestre inside the first two minutes. Arsenal were relieved when Anderson's free-kick was half-cleared and Michael Carrick turned the loose ball wide.

Rooney missed an even better chance for United after 17 minutes, carelessly lofting an inviting ball from Ronaldo over the top when it seemed certain he would score.

Arsenal took full advantage of the reprieve to take the lead five minutes later, when Nasri's shot took a crucial deflection off Neville and wrong-footed Edwin van der Sar. It was a wonderfully open game but Arsenal were playing like a team stung by recent criticism and the sight of old rivals United had only inspired them further.

Fabregas had a shot deflected just wide but United were threatening themselves and Almunia needed to save well from Ji-Sung Park.

If there was a frustration for Arsenal, it would have been that the crucial second goal had eluded them, despite their dominance. They did not have to wait long to get it as Nasri doubled their advantage three minutes after the restart. Fabregas was at the centre of affairs again, punishing United for failing to pick up Nasri when he threaded through a perfect pass for the France midfield man to beat Van der Sar with an emphatic finish.

United, uncharacteristically, were lacking a cutting edge and wasted a perfect opportunity to grasp at a lifeline immediately after Arsenal's goal. Park found Ronaldo unmarked at the far post but he dragged his shot across the face of goal with only Almunia to beat.

Almunia then required lengthy treatment after an accidental clash with Carrick as United refused to give up on the belief that they could get back into an enthralling encounter. He carried on but was clearly in discomfort and was replaced by Lukasz Fabianski with 12 minutes left.

United also replaced Rooney with Carlos Tevez and Anderson with Ryan Giggs in what was clearly a last throw of the dice by Ferguson as time ran out. Rafael, who had replaced Neville in the 63rd minute, pulled one back in the final minute with a spectacular left-foot volley from the edge of the box after Arsenal failed to clear a Giggs cross.

Manchester United’s Carlos Tevez has insisted he is happy to stay at Old Trafford despite his lack of first team opportunities this season.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Tevez admitted it was tough for him to get into the first XI currently. He said: “This season is proving more complicated than any other and it is difficult for me to get in the team. The competition with Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov is intense.”

However, he insists that he has discussed the matter with manager Sir Alex Ferguson and reveals he understands he needs to be patient. The striker explained: “This club have the most talented forward line in England and the manager has decided that we cannot all play in the team at the same time. I want to play more and the coach knows this.”

Ronaldo might be benched against Celtic as Carlos Tevez and Anderson are back in contention after missing Saturday's 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick miss out of course and they are joined in the stands by Patrice Evra who was taken off with a hamstring injury against West Brom and won't be risked tomorrow night.

He should be OK for Saturday,' Fergie said, referring to Saturday's trip to Goodison Park. The manager also confirmed that he was considering relegating Ronaldo to the bench as he's still not at full fitness and has played a lot of games in recent weeks.

If he won't start then Nani is likely to take his place in the side. Anderson and Carlos Tevez are likely to be handed starts after missing Saturday's win because they arrived back very late from international duty.

Carlos Tevez celebrated Argentina's 2-1 victory over Uruguay on Saturday, because his team put an end to a five-match winless streak in the World Cup qualifiers.

Carlos Tevez affirmed to the press that Argentina took a "heavy weight" off their shoulders with their 2-1 victory over Uruguay in a fiery River Plate derby.

"With this victory we took a heavy weight off our shoulders, because we came into the match without any victories and not playing well," he stated to the local press.

The Manchester United striker complained about the match referee, Carlos Torres, because he believes he gave out yellow cards "for anything". Tevez was one of ten players who were booked, and he will miss the clash with Chile next week.

"He gave out (yellow) cards for anything. I know I will miss the next match, but the important thing was to claim the victory," he said.

Tevez was satisfied with the way Argentina played, because he feels they dominated the match for moments, and they didn't allow their opponents to attack them with any conviction.

"We played well for the first 30 minutes, and them (Uruguay), other than the goal, didn't attack us with any danger. But I think the national team played a good match," he concluded.

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Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez has been named in the Argentina squad for their World Cup qualifiers next month.

Tevez was sent off for the second time in three international appearances in a 1-1 draw with Paraguay earlier this month.

He was suspended for their subsequent game against Peru three days later but apologised to coach Alfio Basile and his team-mates.

Tevez is joined in the squad by Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano, Newcastle defender Fabricio Coloccini and Pablo Zabaleta of Manchester City.

Real Betis left-back Luciano Monzon has earned his first senior call-up after featuring in the side that won Olympic gold in Beijing.

Argentina meet Uruguay in Buenos Aires on October 11 before travelling to Santiago to play Chile four days later.

Manchester United have Chelsea rattled, insists striker Carlos Tevez.

He told the Daily Mail: "I thought Chelsea were nervous on Sunday, despite the atmosphere generated by the crowd. It was like a Boca Juniors - River Plate match on the terraces, it was that noisy.

"But if we look at what happened in the game I think that our seven yellow cards were too many because all the hard play was coming from Chelsea.

"I don't think they have accepted and fully come to terms with their double failure last season. They had two battles and lost them both and that's hard.

"I think we were better team on Sunday and Chelsea were a bit lucky to get a draw."

Sir Alex Ferguson has backed his Manchester United side to bounce back from their Premier League defeat at Liverpool.

The Red Devils only have a few days to lick their wounds following the Anfield reverse before they begin the defence of their UEFA Champions League crown. Villarreal are the visitors to Old Trafford on Wednesday night in the first match of a group phase which also features Celtic and Danish side Aalborg.

The Scot laid into his players in the wake of their weekend setback, when defensive blunders handed Liverpool both of their goals in a 2-1 triumph for Rafa Benitez's men.

But Ferguson expects his team will have already moved on by Wednesday night and has already set his sights on qualifying for the knockout phase.

"You have to recover, that's the name of the game," Ferguson said.

"It's the Champions League and I think we are in a good group and I think we have a good chance of qualifying. The way I look at the Champions League is to get to 10 points. If you get that you know you have qualified and you can look forward to February when it really starts to kick in."

Argentina forward Carlos Tevez has been left 'upset' after receiving his second red card in three international appearances.

The 24-year-old was dismissed in the 31st minute of Saturday's 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw with Paraguay for a challenge on Dario Veron.

Tevez will now sit out Thursday's encounter against Peru and has vowed to make amends in the future after he was also handed his marching orders in November's 2-1 loss in Colombia.

"It cannot happen to me again," the Manchester United attacker told TV station TyC Sports. "I apologised to my team-mates but they didn't accept it because they believe it's not necessary.

"It really calmed me down because they know me very well and they know I don't do things to get sent off on purpose. It affects me. The match was so calm, I felt it was the match for me. I am quite upset but this situation makes me stronger.

"I feel the coach trusts me. When we talked, I told him what I was feeling and also apologised."

The South American Football Confederation has yet to decide on the length of Tevez's ban but with the striker not travelling with the squad to Peru he will instead return to England ahead of Saturday's clash at Liverpool.

Carlos Tevez had a night to forget as Argentina's World Cup qualifying campaign stuttered on home soil.

Reds striker Tevez was sent off after just half an hour, for a second bookable offence, after Heinze had gifted Paraguay the lead with an own goal in the 12th minute. And although Argentina eventually equalised through sub Sergio Aguero, set up by Barcelona's Lionel Messi, coach Alfio Basile was bemused.

Basile moaned: "We had the worst luck and the sending off of Tevez knocked us back. It was a strange match but I was not happy with the (1-1) draw because I believe we deserved to win."

The result in Buenos Aires saw Paraguay stay top in the South American group, two points clear of Argentina.