WE’RE BACK
United eye top spot by New Year after RVP sinks Arsenal
WAYNE ROONEY has set Manchester United a target to be top of the Barclays Premier League by January 1 after they stunned leaders Arsenal yesterday.
Former Gunners striker Robin van Persie scored the 27th- minute winner for the reigning champions to end Arsene Wenger’s 15- match unbeaten run on their travels much to the delight of the home supporters in a packed Old Trafford.
Van Persie’s goal — his seventh in the league this season — closed the gap on Arsenal to five points. Rooney, who was exceptional for United alongside Van Persie, said: ‘ We couldn’t afford to lose because we couldn’t let them get 11 points ahead of us.
‘It’s a massive lift and it’s a great weekend ahead of the international break. Our aim is to be top or thereabouts at the new year.
‘We just had to win at all costs. We
are right back in it now and the other results gave us a big boost.’ Rooney, who supplied the corner for Van Persie’s winner, also claimed United had worked on set-pieces because of Arsenal’s vulnerability at set-plays. He added: ‘We worked on free-kicks and corners because Arsenal have a few smaller players. Thankfully it paid off.’ Victory was a huge lift for United after Manchester City lost at Sunderland and Tottenham were beaten by Newcastle. Chelsea drew with West Brom on Saturday. In more worrying news for United, captain Nemanja Vidic went to hospital last night for a check-up on a serious mouth injury. He was caught by United keeper David de Gea in a collision with Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insisted his keeper Wojciech Szczesny was fit to carry on after a first-half collision with Phil Jones, saying: ‘I listen to the doctor and if he says he has to come off then I would play with seven men.’ Meanwhile, United midfielder Michael Carrick is a big doubt for England’s friendlies against Chile this Friday and Germany the following Tuesday. Carrick hobbled off at the end with an Achilles injury and will be assessed today before a decision is made on whether he should join Roy Hodgson’s squad. ‘I have been carrying the injury for a few weeks now,’ said Carrick. ‘I was a bit patched up. I got through it but it doesn’t look good.’ Arsenal had the chance to restore a five-point lead over Liverpool and were looking to win at Old Trafford for the first time since September 2006. Instead, Wenger was furious with referee Michael Oliver, although he refused to elaborate. Wenger said: ‘I need to buy some Christmas presents and all these fines cost me, but the referee got some major decisions wrong. I felt we were nervous at the start and we didn’t play our game. We missed a few times to push the ball in the net. We could have got a draw.’ The win means David Moyes’ men are unbeaten in nine games. The United manager said: ‘I want to be top. It’s another step in the right direction. I’m not singing and dancing, but I’m thrilled to put in a great performance.’