Ferguson's forward thinking

Be careful what you wish for. The lengthy pursuit of Dimitar Berbatov was eventually concluded with minutes to spare before the transfer deadline. Yet in solving one problem, by finally recruiting a target man, Sir Alex Ferguson may wonder if he has created another.

As Manchester United begin the defence of their Champions League crown tonight against Villarreal, he has the task of integrating the club record signing into a side who include Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez. While the Bulgarian supplied the Argentine's early goal in the loss at Liverpool, Rooney spent much of the match in exile on the right flank. It is less than two months since Ferguson vowed to deploy the Englishman in his preferred position this season. A swift volte face was not justified. Outflanked - literally - by Liverpool, the Scot's tactic of fielding three strikers and three central midfielders backfired.

It was a second successive defeat. Add in a position in the lower half of the Premier League and the unavailability of the first-choice midfield pair tonight and United's has been an awkward start. A reshuffle is necessitated, in part, by their own foolishness. Paul Scholes' needless dismissal in the Super Cup defeat to Zenit St Petersburg was, Ferguson initially thought, a footnote. But the suspension applies to the Champions League, and a time when Michael Carrick is injured. Owen Hargreaves, yet to start this season, and Darren Fletcher, United's unlikely top scorer, are potential partners for Anderson in the centre of midfield.

At least there may be an injection of stardust if Cristiano Ronaldo makes an earlier than expected return from an ankle problem, either tonight or at Chelsea on Sunday. Villarreal seem to concur about Ronaldo's importance. "It's probably too much to say that United are half the team without him," said The Villarreal midfielder Marcos Senna, rather dismissing Ferguson's forward line. "But I would say that United lose at least 30 per cent of their power when he's not playing."

Whatever the personnel, improvement is required, even though United's task in Group E is comparatively modest. "The way I look at the Champions League is to get to 10 points," Ferguson said. "If you get that you know you have qualified." Villarreal progressed at United's expense in the 2005-6, when Ferguson's men endured the ignominy of propping up their group. As United deliberate how to best deploy Berbatov, Tevez and Rooney, a former striker, the Italian Giuseppe Rossi, returns tonight.

While United's club's sponsors, AIG are in financial trouble, Arsenal, in contrast, are in rude health. Aided by Arsene Wenger's gift for thrift, they are expected to announce record profits. With 11 goals in the past three games, they are thriving on the pitch. The Frenchman has to decide whether to disrupt the alliance of Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie and introduce Nicklas Bendtner, who enabled Denmark to beat Portugal last week.

Adebayor's hat-trick at Blackburn opened his Premier League account for the campaign, and Dynamo Kiev have to formulate a plan to halt him tonight in Ukraine. Their coach, Yuri Semin, said: "We will not be putting a man-marker on him. Adebayor plays all over the pitch, and in every zone there will be one of our players to meet him." Arsenal rarely deem inexperience a hindrance, but injuries may be. Samir Nasri's ankle may not recover in time and both Gael Clichy and Emmanuel Eboue are other additions to the injury list.But Mikael Silvestre could be fit to make his debut after his surprise move from Manchester United.

"I had a few offers to return to France, but when Arsenal came along I knew it was the best challenge I could have asked for," said Silvestre, who hopes to partner William Gallas in defence. Whoever they field, Arsenal are expected to prosper and it may bode well that Kiev were the only side who failed to register a point in last season's Champions League. sports@thenational.ae