Manchester United v Arsenal: Giggs looking for Rovers reprise as Wenger lauds improving standards

Although Sir Alex Ferguson's men were sitting top of the Premier League before the weather intervened nine days ago to prevent their encounter with Blackpool going ahead, like everyone else, they find themselves with plenty of questions to answer.

Seven draws from 15 unbeaten games ahead of tonight's home confrontation with Arsenal has left many observers scratching their heads about how United have managed to get themselves into such a lofty position.

As Blackburn discovered, there is obviously plenty of talent remaining at Old Trafford, even if few think them as effective as in the days of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

"The Blackburn game is the benchmark," said Giggs. "Everything clicked that day. Some of the forward play was exceptional.

"That is what we want and what we know we are capable of doing.

"In games and training, the idea is to go out and reach it again."

Aside from long-term injury absentees Michael Owen and Owen Hargreaves, Ferguson has a full-strength squad available.

Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes are both desperate to be involved, the latter man possibly at the expense of Anderson, whose recent displays are said to have persuaded Ferguson to offer the Brazilian midfielder a new contract.

The Gunners have been beaten four times already, but still returned to the summit last weekend after victory over Fulham when United were inactive and Chelsea dropped more points. However, this campaign has seen teams right through the league produce match-winning performances on their day, meaning no one can be complacent in a season where unpredictability has become a welcome trend.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists this is down to the improvement of squads across the board, rather than the leading sides having dropped standards.

"I don't agree with the people who say that the overall quality of the league is lower this season. In fact, you can say exactly the reverse," he commented.

"Last Monday night, two quality teams – Aston Villa and Liverpool – met and both sides were in the bottom half, so that opinion is not really proven by concrete facts.

"The whole Premier League is more difficult for everybody and what you call mid-table teams and bottom-table teams have improved – every single game today is a cup game for everybody."