Clash Of The Titans

Leicester play Colchester tomorrow - away.

But while those little Foxes are wending their way down to Essex, preparations will be underway for another battle. A conflict of epic proportions.

On the one side, fierce, attacking, energetic dynamism. On the other, the grace and beauty of one-touch football.

I am talking of course about the match between Manchester United and Arsenal.

On current form they are the two best teams in the country. They are neck-and-neck at the top of the Premiership, with only 3 goals separating them.

The two managers are as different from each other as their teams. And things are somewhat - er - "tense" between them.

Ferguson considers Wenger "aloof", not least because he once refused to have a post-match drink with him. He also referred to him as "a disgrace" for allegedly taking no action when Arsenal fans turned him into a walking little chef after a match. The police have even been involved in the vitriolic war of words, cautioning that the conflict could be replicated between the rival fans.

So what is that really all about? I mean OK they are professional rivals but by all accounts some of the conflict has been bitter and personal.

Perhaps there are some deep-rooted class issues. Ferguson with his Glaswegian, working-class background. Wenger the son of a Strasbourg restaurateur.

Maybe there is some complex, homo-erotic dynamic that each is trying to repress and deny, leading to outward rejection and distancing.

Or I suppose it is possible they simply don't like each other.

In any event I think we can expect a compelling match. So I shall be down at the local football pub with my lover. He'll be cheering for those little Red Devils. And I'll be shouting "Up the Arse!"