Arsène Wenger has hinted that Nicklas Bendtner might not be ready to start the match against Manchester United this weekend.

The Danish striker made his first appearance in three months as a substitute against Aston Villa, replacing the injured Eduardo. With van Persie also out for the season, Wenger has reluctantly admitted that Andrei Arshavin might have to fill in upfront again.

He said: "Bendtner looks at bit short, but I have not picked the team yet. To start Bendtner is going through my mind, but he has only one training session and 20 minutes of action in three months."

The manager is worried that Arshavin won't get the space he needs as a lone front man, but has backed the Russian to come up with something special for the big occasion.

He said: "He is always marked very tight and people do not give him a lot of room.

"Everybody who plays against Arshavin says 'make sure you mark him tight'.

"But even when he is marked tight in some of the so-called less big games, when you look at the tape afterwards, you always think 'this movement was good', or 'this pass was great'.

"Arshavin likes the big stage. He can be quiet for 20 minutes, and then suddenly turn up with something decisive. That is what you want from the big players - the big players make you win the big games."

ARSENE WENGER will tell his Arsenal players to go out and 'surprise him' when they face Manchester United on Sunday.

The Gunners can return to the top of the table by beating United at the Emirates.

And Wenger is confident the simplest of team talks will do the trick against the Premier League champions.

He said: "The players on the pitch can always surprise you with their creativity, their talent and their imagination.

"But I'm confident my players will surprise me more than Alex Ferguson's will surprise him.

"We know that when we play at our best we can beat Man United — we can beat everybody."

Wenger believes his young guns can put a serious dent in United's bid to lift the title four seasons in a row.

And he is tipping Andrey Arshavin to be the difference between the two sides.

The Gunners boss said: "I'm very happy with Arshavin because in every game he is influential and he creates chances.

"He turns up with something when it's really needed. He doesn't do it just at 4-0, he comes up with something when it's 0-0.

"He's the player you can rely on in a tight game.

"He likes the big stage and that's what you want from players. He is one of the players who can win you big games.

"Even when he is marked tight, he still impresses. He always turns up with something special."

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United cannot afford to lose Sunday's match against Arsenal, billing it as the club's "biggest game of the season".

While a stoppage-time goal from Wayne Rooney booked United’s place in the Carling Cup final on Wednesday, Chelsea's 3-0 victory over Birmingham City swept the London club back to the summit of the Premier League, with a game in hand.

Ferguson is all too aware that defeat at the Emirates on Sunday could leave United having to bridge the widening gap to Chelsea, while victory would not only damage Arsenal's challenge but boost United's.

"Looking at the way the league is shaping up, this game on Sunday is the biggest of the season for us," Ferguson said. "If Chelsea win their game in hand they go four points ahead of us. That is the catch-up part.

"But Sunday's game has great relevance because both sides have a genuine chance of winning the league."

United had never won at the Emirates Stadium until last season's Champions League semi-final. Since then, Arsenal have suffered successive heavy home defeats to Chelsea, provoking a number of the critics to write them off completely.

"It is amazing how this league has changed," Ferguson said. "As I have said all along, the team that is most consistent will win the league now. Arsenal's current form has been very good. It has brought them back into the picture. That is why this is such a massive game for us."

United's long-running rivalry with Arsenal has been a feature of the Premier League and Ferguson says he relishes each contest.

"These games with Arsenal are historic," he said. "Since I came down here, apart from the early years before George Graham won his first title, it was Arsenal and United who were mostly competing for the trophies.

"Without doubt Chelsea have become a prominent team in that respect too and it has been ourselves and Chelsea challenging for the league in the last few years. But you can never dismiss Arsenal because their history will always guarantee a challenge. And they are definitely in the fray again."

United will be without Rio Ferdinand, who starts a four-match ban after an FA disciplinary panel decided his appeal against a violent conduct charge for his attack on Hull's Craig Fagan last week was "frivolous". Ferdinand is still deciding whether to lodge an appeal to try and get the additional match that was tagged on to the automatic three-game suspension rescinded.

That will be of no assistance on Sunday, although Ferguson does have Nemanja Vidic available after the Serbian defender recovered from a nerve problem that has kept him on the sidelines throughout the first few weeks of 2010.

Meanwhile, Ferguson has called on United's supporters not to launch into their now traditional abuse of Arsene Wenger.

It has been a feature of recent clashes between that Wenger has come under sustained attack, with one particularly vile song being repeatedly directed at the Frenchman.

"I know there has been some terrible abuse from our fans towards Arsene Wenger," Ferguson said. "But a line has to be drawn. They must know that themselves."

"It is unavoidable that managers do get abused," he added. "I get it myself. Most managers do. Sometimes I can't hear these chants, or make them out but it has to be controlled."