Wayne Rooney is simply a force of nature. A man who could so easily have felt this season as if he had the weight of the world (or more accurately Old Trafford) on his shoulders, has instead been revitalised and reborn as a world class player. He is playing with a freedom at the moment not seen since his first couple of seasons at the club. Then, he would take a game by the scruff of the neck by charging at defences, using his power and pace to wreak havoc. In many ways this has receded in recent years. He has relied more on his cunning, his football brain, to pick a pass or make space for an effort on goal. The last fortnight however has seen a return to the form that brought him to the nation's attention as a teenager. If he can continue to produce anything close to the kind of form he has shown in the last month, United are in with a real shout of the title.

Speaking of revitalised and reborn, who could have seen this performance coming from Nani? The question now is can he prove that this is not a flash in the pan run of form? There are also a couple of caveats to his current run. Firstly, he is playing well from the right hand side of midfield. Throughout his United career he has more frequently been deployed on the opposite flank - maybe Ferguson has finally realised that from the right he is more likely to deliver a quality cross (being that he is right footed) and less likely to cut inside and shoot (repeatedly). Secondly, Nani played well against Clichy, an Arsenal left back who appears in terminal decline. The ease at which he was beaten time and time again was staggering. How will Nani fare against some of the leagues more seasoned performers?

This also makes you wonder about Valencia's role in the next couple of weeks, and indeed the season. Nani has justified his inclusion to this point, but what did Valencia do to justify being omitted? By all accounts he was well and truly hitting his stride and finally seemed comfortable in the United shirt. He appears to be hugely one footed so it will be interesting to see what Ferguson does from here on in.

As for Arsenal, well this was a second humiliation at the Emirates in a couple of months against another title rival. The combined score of the visits of Chelsea and United reads 1-6. Devastating. Wenger talked a big game before the match, and the outcome may well have been different had Arshavin taken one of his chances early in the game when he had the United defence, and Wes Brown in particular, on the back foot. In fairness to Wenger, he was as honest as he could have been in his post match appraisal of the contest.

Arsenal simply underperformed on the big occassion yet again, as they did in the Champions League semi final last year against the same opponents. Too many players didn't show up on the day - Denilson, Nasri, Clichy, Rosicky, and of course, Almunia. How Arsenal can ever expect to seriously challenge with the collection of goalkeepers they have simply beggars belief.

Arsenal knew they were entering a testing period of the season. A draw at Aston Villa and this loss means it has not started well. As for United, well they will just be hoping that Rooney stays fit for the season's climax.