Wayne Rooney bagged his 100th Premier League goal as Manchester United saw off title rivals Arsenal 3-1 at Emirates Stadium.
Red Devils on fire at Emirates Stadium
Wayne Rooney bagged his 100th Premier League goal as Manchester United saw off title rivals Arsenal 3-1 at Emirates Stadium.
A Manuel Almunia own goal and a well-taken effort from Park Ji-sung, either side of Rooney's effort, saw the Red Devils to a comprehensive victory against their arch-rivals.
Thomas Vermaelen did pull one back for the Gunners late on, but it was no more than a consolation.
Both sides looked dangerous on the counter early on, but it was United who made the most of their opportunities as they broke the deadlock after 33 minutes.
The impressive Nani did brilliantly to twist his way inside two defenders and get to the dead-ball line.
From there he looked to stand a cross over the head of Almunia, but the Spanish shot-stopper got a hand on the ball and turned it into his own net.
United were now rampant and added a second four minutes later as Rooney and Nani broke at pace and the former rounded off a sweeping move by steering the ball into the bottom corner.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side were in no mood to take their foot of the pedal after the interval and added a clinical third on 52 minutes.
Arsenal were ripped wide open once again and Park was left with the simplest of tasks as he bore down on goal and slid the ball calmly under the onrushing Almunia.
With 10 minutes remaining the Gunners finally found a way through but an acrobatic volley from Vermaelen, which took a big deflection off Jonny Evans, failed to change the course of the game.
Attacking threat
Arsenal, who had started the match five points behind Chelsea ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge next weekend, began well as Andrey Arshavin got away down the left, before cutting inside and trying to curl the ball past Edwin van der Sar from a tight angle, but his shot drifted wide.
United, though, were quick to regain possession and then cut down any space for the home side.
Nani and Darren Fletcher combined as they almost played in Rooney, but William Gallas made an important blocking tackle in the six-yard box.
Alex Song - back from the African Cup of Nations - then had to hack the ball clear at the far post as United again got clear down the right far too easily.
When Arshavin - who was ineligible for last season's UEFA Champions League semi-final clash between the sides - burst away again, he lacked any support in the middle.
The Russian, though, remained Arsenal's most potent attacking threat.
In the 13th minute he skipped away down the left, cut back inside Wes Brown and curled another effort goalwards, which this time was only just wide of the far post.
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas suddenly burst into life with a surging run down the middle, before slipping in Arshavin, but the Russian lost his footing at the key moment and United cleared.
United - who have played a match more than Chelsea - slowly started to gain the upper hand and Gallas needed to make another timely tackle in the penalty area as Paul Scholes shaped to shoot.
Nani drilled the ball wide as Arsenal were again exposed in the right channel, before playing a key part in the goal which gave United the lead.
The winger skipped easily in between two defenders then chipped the ball back across goal. Almunia pushed it inside his far post, with Park ready to tap the ball into the net.
Uphill battle
Fabregas' shot following a corner was blocked, and four minutes later United were 2-0 ahead.
Again Nani was the provider, dashing clear after picking the ball up from Rooney before squaring it for the England striker to sweep home his 22nd goal of the season, low into the corner.
The Gunners faced an uphill battle to get back into the match, with Arshavin firing wide from just inside the box - as manager Arsene Wenger was left to scratch his head and look to the heavens for inspiration.
It could have been worse on 41 minutes, but Nani blazed his shot wide after more good work from Rooney down the left.
There was a hold-up at the start of the second half as Rooney received treatment following a knock on the knee in a challenge with Bacary Sagna.
The England forward, though, was soon back in the action, and tested Almunia with a fierce angled drive after cutting in from the left.
It was game over on 52 minutes, when United scored a third following another simple counter.
This time it was Park who broke clear, sprinting onto Fletcher's chip into the Arsenal half and then slotting past Almunia from just inside the box.
The Gunners were also well beaten here 3-0 by Chelsea at the end of November, before a run of seven wins from nine hauled them back into title contention.
Fabregas continued to drive his young team on, firing over and then just too close to Van der Sar, then Song volleyed wide.
Theo Walcott came on as substitute - and Arsenal pulled a goal back with 10 minutes to go when Vermaelen's volley took a deflection off Evans to wrong-foot Van der Sar.
However, there was to be no grand finale as Wenger's youngsters were again found wanting when it mattered most.
| Arsenal |
Team Statistics |
Manchester United |
| 1 |
Goals |
3 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
2 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 13 |
Shots off Target |
6 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 8 |
Corners |
5 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
12 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 80.8 |
Passing Success |
75.2 |
| 18 |
Tackles |
36 |
| 94.4 |
Tackles Success |
77.8 |
| 53.1 |
Possession |
46.9 |
| 50.6 |
Territorial Advantage |
49.4 |
|
