Manchester United Thrash Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium

Arsenal were emphatically dismissed as title contenders by the reigning champions Manchester United, as they beat the Londoners at their home stadium for the first time in a domestic fixture. The last time Manchester United visited Arsenal, it was the semifinal of the Champions League, and the final scoreline was the same. Arsenal were threatening to come back into this seasons title race, but their hopes have suffered a major dash now.

It was a great display by the reigning champions, easily their best performance of the season so far. They were ruthless in attack and remorseless in defense, and their midfield trio of Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher absolutely dominated the center of the park. The Barclays Premier League has become a two horse race now with Arsenal 5 points behind league leaders Chelsea, having played a game more. Arsenal's next game is against Chelsea, and if they fail to beat Chelsea they can effectively write off the Premier League title from their aspirations for yet another season.

The man of the match was a certain 23 year old Portugese winger. No, I don't mean Cristiano Ronaldo. We're talking about Nani, the much maligned and inconsistent performer, who has suddenly decided that his future is at Manchester United after all. And he's certainly playing like a player who could fill the void left by Ronaldo in the United jigsaw. It was Cristiano Ronaldo who master minded Arsenal's defeat in that Champions League game, and this time it was Nani. Arsenal, it seems, are unable to deal with effective counter attacking football, and Arsene Wenger refuses to learn from his mistakes.

Nani showed some wonderful skill in the 33rd minute to cut inside from the right, after he outfoxed 2 Arsenal players. His cross/lob shot ended up in the back of the net, thanks to a wicked touch by goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. The goal was no more than the Portugese wizard deserved. The next goal came 5 minutes later as the result of a rapid fire counter attack by United. It was Nani again who created the goal, as he slid the ball in to talisman Wayne Rooney. Rooney made no mistake as he majestically scored in one single stride, and that was game over. That was Rooney's 100th league goal, and also his 20th of an amazing goalscoring season.

The match looked almost decided after that, and Ji-Sung Park made it 3-0 on 52 minutes with another great counter attacking move. The absence of Arsenal's defense made them look like a bunch of school boys on the night. Thomas Vermaelen got a consolation goal in the 80th minute, and that was all it was. Arsenal had a tough run of 4 games against Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea and then Liverpool. They have played the first two, and lost one and drawn one. Anything but maximum points against Chelsea will imply that their title challenge is over.

For Sir Alex Ferguson's men, the win signifies something more than just 3 points. They have been written off this season, but based on this performance it was yet another premature mistake by the English press. With Wayne Rooney in the form of his life, United can achieve great things. If Nani keeps playing like this he will definitely live up to his billing as Ronaldo's successor. United are hitting top gear at just the right moment, and Chelsea must surely be concerned at this sudden explosion at Manchester United. They are 1 point ahead of United, but have played a game less. With 14 games still to go, nothing is decided yet. And the Barclays Premier League could still end up in Manchester, for the 4th year running.