This is really a testing time for Arsenal's shrewd manager Arsene Wenger as the football world will be anxiously watching his reaction after going out of three trophies in two weeks.

The Carling cup loss to unsung Birmingham City must have been a bad omen.

The Emirates ball jugglers so dominated the game it would be no exaggeration to say that they actually refused to win by throwing away countless scoring chances. You can't be that unlucky.

May be it was this bad luck that followed them to the Nou Camp where an unsympathetic referee contributed to their loss to Barcelona in the Champions league.

Honestly, the trend of play suggested the match could end in a stalemate or at worst penalty shootout but the harsh dismissal of top striker Van Persie completely changed the colour of the game.

No wonder the reticent Wenger who felt short- changed by the referee made some uncharacteristic comments akin to those made by extrovert Alex Ferguson after Manchester United’s recent loss to Chelsea.

So the United - Arsenal FA Cup tie turned out to be a contest between two aggrieved managers fighting a common enemy. However there was no common enemy to fight against at Old Trafford and with the stakes that high there was hardly any compromise.

Both teams were at the crossroads  Arsenal had gone out of two trophies, the same period that United had lost two crucial league matches that had dented their championship dreams.

You could debate who was the poorer of the two but I consider a home loss would have made United the poorer by far.After all, Arsenal has been unable to score in any of their last three FA Cup meetings against United and it could be taken as just one of those things.

Indeed my colleague Ben Epson, an ardent Arsenal fan says the defeat was a sacrifice Arsenal had to make in order to annex the league title. Let’s hope so. Meanwhile, Chelsea fans are enjoying the dog fight between United and Arsenal and also the verbal attacks on referees by the two front running managers Arsene Wenger and Ferguson.

What is the name of the chap who said that his friend's enemy was his friend?  I have the funny feeling that football fans may see a lot  more tricks by the knights of the whistle in the coming weeks but my admonition is that, “those who think they are standing must take care lest they fall".

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.