Sweet 16!

Manchester United 1, Arsenal 0

MANCHESTER United set themselves to take a decisive stranglehold on the Premier League title thanks to their 1–0 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford last night.

Park Ji–sung’s solitary first half goal extended their unbeaten start to the season to 16 matches and left them two points clear of the Gunners and Manchester City with a game in hand.

And Ferguson knows, if his side can come away from Sunday’s trip to Chelsea with another three points, they will start to feel increasingly confident about landing a record 19th league title.

“Sunday is a massive game,” said Ferguson. “That will go a long way to establishing what happens at the top of the league.

“We are 16 games undefeated. Now we have to make it 17.”

After scoring seven on their last league outing a fortnight ago, United showed a different side to their character, turning in a superb defensive performance to restrict the visitors to just a single chance.

In contrast, United had four excellent ones, including a missed spot–kick from Wayne Rooney which would have sealed the points 17 minutes from time.

“I was surprised at Wayne hitting the ball over the bar,” said Ferguson. “I have never seen him do that before. He normally puts his shots on target.

“Against Rangers he hit it hard and low into the corner. Here he ballooned it over the bar.”

Instead, Ferguson was forced to rely on Park’s excellent header. It was the South Korean’s sixth goal of the season and he is currently enjoying his most consistent form since he first came to the club in 2005.

Little wonder there is an element of frustration at the knowledge the 29–year–old is set to miss seven games immediately after the Boxing Day encounter with Sunderland as he fulfils his commitments for South Korea at the Asian Cup in Qatar. he will be out for seven games.




::ARSENAL have now gone seven games without a win against Manchester United and have a similarly poor record in their encounters with Chelsea, who they face at the Emirates Stadium on December 27.