A settled-looking team and strong form give Arsenal reasons for cheer but Manchester City and United are better than the derby suggested and should soon hit their stride as players bed in

As the heat and fury of a migrainously intense, at times migrainously dull Manchester derby died away it wasn’t hard to picture Arsène Wenger nodding contentedly in front of his cinema-scale screen in rural Hertfordshire, perhaps even clenching a wiry fist in quiet celebration at the final whistle. United and City’s physically relentless 0-0 draw at Old Trafford may have felt a bit like a return to the grand fevered “shit-on-a-stick” days of Premier League ferocity, but it was nonetheless a result to cap what Wenger had already described as his perfect week.

City are back on top of the table on goal difference. With Sergio Agüero and David Silva to return they still look to have the strongest squad in the league, and remain a sensible bet to win it even with 28 games still to play. Still, though, dropped points for the Manchester clubs – with only two now separating the four-team peloton at the top of the table – leaves an intriguingly open autumn run-in towards the real meat of the midwinter season.

From here City, Arsenal and United all have relatively easy paths towards the usual sink-or-swim Christmas shemozzle. On paper, City’s toughest assignments in that six-game run are Liverpool and Southampton at home and Villa and Stoke away. United have four away games out of six, including Crystal Palace and Leicester City.

Arsenal play Tottenham at home, but have a relatively favourable schedule otherwise. The most settled-looking of the top teams, they are on a fine mini-run. Since January they have shown an increasing expertise at running and passing teams below them in the league into the ground. Given the run of fixtures it is probably reasonable to expect Arsenal to be top of the league, narrowly, by the time they play at home to City on 21 December, the first potentially pivotal moment in what we can probably now call the title race.

With this in mind the 0-0 at Old Trafford could still prove a significant starting point. Despite the understandable rush to yawn loudest at what was a horribly frustrating game, it is worth making the point that neither United nor City are as bad as they looked. This was, on the bald inflationary figures, the most expensive collection of footballers ever assembled for an English league match. Between them the £500m men produced two shots on target and a sense above all of incoherence and trapped talent, energy without precision.

This should come as no great surprise. Both Manchester teams are in a state of mild flux. Both are bedding in players and finding combinations. Both are, with a steady hand, on an upward trajectory that the next six games will help to refine.

At Old Trafford four members of City’s starting XI were signed this year. Their chief conductor and finisher were missing. The four players closest to the point of their attack – Wilfried Bony, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho – have now made only 18 league starts between them and scored nine goals. What were we expecting here? Valeri Lobanovsky’s telepathic Dynamo Kyiv? Instant Brazil 1970?

If Manuel Pellegrini’s attack looked like strangers at times, maybe that is because, in elite football terms, they are. Time is City’s friend here. De Bruyne and Sterling, in particular, are excellent combination players. They will only get better.

United are also still in a state of relative chop and change, with two new starting players in central midfield, a teenage left-winger making his fifth start and seven outfield players who have arrived in the last two seasons. It is increasingly easy to question Wayne Rooney’s presence as untouchable first choice centre-forward but consider Louis van Gaal’s wider picture. Only three of his players against City are in double figures for career United league goals. Antonio Valencia has 13, Juan Mata 18 and the captain 172.

Such is the relentless turnover in the Premier League we tend to get a little blase about this level of player-churn. But the best teams grow out of at least a core of stability, of grooved understanding, some kind of shared, evolved team groupthink. Again, time will help here, as Van Gaal and Pellegrini know better than anyone.

It was no accident United went with a double-bolted central midfield at home while, for the last 10 minutes at Old Trafford, City had Fernandinho, Fernando and Martín Demichelis strung across midfield like a trio of nightclub bouncers, with De Bruyne still lurking sensitively on the left wing trying to look useful. Sometimes setting out not to lose first and foremost can be a fairly sensible

If Arsenal look the most free-flowing of the top teams this is perhaps because they are reaping the (often overlooked) benefits of not signing new outfield players, of allowing the existing rhythms to thrum on into the new season. Injuries and tiredness will be their enemies as the season fades into winter. Aaron Ramsey has already tweaked a hamstring. Alexis Sánchez will need a break, voluntary or enforced, at some stage.

For the Manchester clubs the next few weeks are a case of heading the other way, of seeking to draw a settled attacking pattern out of a more recently hurled-together group of players. It will surely start to click, just as the Premier League’s Champions League teams, after a horrendous start, all now look vaguely capable of grappling their way up out of the group stage.

Perhaps it might even be worth remembering that Jorge Valdano’s original shit-on-a-stick jibe after Liverpool and Chelsea’s furious 2007 champions League semi-final was born out of anxiety at the Premier League’s burgeoning power, the start of a period of six English Champions League finalists out of 10 and only two from Spain.

Such successes may seem a long way off right now, and for much broader reasons than simply a degree of flux in personnel. But that six-game run up to Christmas could still be fascinating: as much for the spectacle of building on the hoof, as for the promise of some more fluent encounters as these relatively callow mega-money teams mature.

3 things to look out for in the Sheffield Wednesday vs Arsenal match

Carlos Carvalhal’s Sheffield Wednesday side will face a tricky game at Hillsborough, coming up against an Arsenal side that are right near the top of the Premier League, and buzzing off the back of victories against Everton, Bayern Munich, Watford and Manchester United.

Here are THREE things to look out for in this highly anticipated clash:

Arsene Wenger’s team selection

Fringe players such as Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky might well start, so Owls fans will be hopeful that Carlos Carvalhal will set his side up to attack from the whistle, and run at the midfield and back-line.

Should they do this, Wednesday fans will feel relatively optimistic.

Lucas Joao’s form

Sheffield Wednesday striker Lucas Joao looks like an outstanding player in his appearances this season and scored in his last game for the Owls.

Should Arsenal catch him in-form, they might struggle to contain the striker, who is potentially Wednesday’s biggest goal threat.

Home support

The Owls will flock in numbers to watch this huge clash, and the fans will be in great voice throughout the game, backing their side.

This should spur on Carlos Carvalhal’s side, who will be looking to advance, despite the fact they are playing one of the form sides in England right now.

Sheffield Wednesday fans…… Do you reckon you could get a result tonight? Confident? Or will you lose? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!

Sheffield Wednesday - Arsenal preview: Wenger wants

more improvement

The Gunners have enjoyed a fine spell of form, dispatching both Bayern Munich and Everton in the past seven days, and now face a trip to Championship opposition

Arsene Wenger has urged Arsenal to maintain the high standards that have seen the Gunners record four consecutive victories, as they prepare for a trip to Hillsborough to face Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth round of the League Cup.

Wenger's side sit second in the Premier League, behind Manchester City on goal difference only, and rounded off a superb week – in which they beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League – with a 2-1 win at home to Everton on Saturday.

Wednesday, unbeaten in eight games across all competitions, are also enjoying a fine spell of form, with manager Carlos Carvalhal's style of play earning plaudits from fans and pundits alike.

The Championship side dispatched Newcastle United in the third round, while Arsenal overcame north London rivals Tottenham thanks to Mathieu Flamini's double, to set up a first meeting between the two clubs since May 2000 – a game in which Wednesday's relegation from the top flight was confirmed.

Wenger is adamant that his side must be at their best to ensure progression into the quarter-finals, and is convinced that there is still much room for improvement.

"Let's continue to work together and continue to improve," said Wenger. "There are still many aspects to our game which we can improve and therefore let's focus and try to be a better team.

"We need to keep the togetherness, the concentration, the humility and try to play better football game by game and try to focus on that in training as well."

Carvalhal has revealed that he will make changes for the clash on Tuesday, with Wednesday already shorn of several key performers – with the likes of Michael Turner, Alex Lopez, Marco Matias and Modou Sougou all injured.

"We must wait on some players but we know Turner, Lopez, Matias and Sougou will not play," the Portuguese told the official club website.

"We cannot take risks with anyone. For certain, Joe Wildsmith will play. Keiren Westwood is an amazing goalkeeper as everybody knows and Joe is a very, very talented young goalkeeper.

"I have complete confidence in Joe. When he has come into the team, he has done fantastic. He made his international debut for the England Under-20s recently and was then called into the Under-21s and that is a sign of the progress he has made.

"This is an important game and one we want to win. We have a fantastic spirit at the club and I will have 100 per cent confidence in whoever plays in this game."