Manchester United scupper sad Arsenal in triumphant 4-0 win
Wayne Rooney scored the first of four United goals
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Saturday, 16, Feb 2008 08:00
Manchester United thrashed Arsenal to reach the quarter finals of the FA Cup, with the 4-0 result sure to underline their credentials as favourites for the cup.
Following the nightmare of losing the Manchester derby last weekend while marking the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash, and only securing a fortunate draw at Tottenham before that, United were hoping to gain fresh momentum with a win against their title rivals.
They certainly did that, rattling up a three goal lead before half time that swiftly made Arsenal realise they would not be progressing any further in this season’s competition.
Wayne Rooney scored the first with 15 minutes not yet on the clock, heading past Jens Lehman with his back to goal, following a good ball from Anderson.
Darren Fletcher quickly made it 2-0, with another headed goal, with the midfielder latching onto a good cross from Luis Nani.
When Nani himself made it 3-0 in the 38th minute, it seemed hard to imagine any way in which Arsenal could find their way back into the tie.
Nonetheless, Arsene Wenger would have hoped that his team, five points clear of United in the Premier League, might be able to get a goal back early in the second half to launch an attempt at a come-back.
Instead, he was forced to watch his team fall to 10 men as Emmanuel Eboue was sent off for serious foul play following a bad challenge on Patrice Evra, as Arsenal’s frustrations at their own game looked to be spilling over.
Emmanuel Adebayor, Arsenal’s leading scorer whom Wenger had hoped would not need to be involved due to fitness worries, came on as a substitute but could not stem the tide.
A fourth goal for United, and Fletcher’s second, came in the 74th minute, once more a header from a cross by the highly skilful Nani.
United could not have hoped for a more emphatic result to put their previous weekend’s disappointment behind them.