Park Acrobats Send United Top

Manchester United nudged Arsenal off the top of the Premier League last night after Ji Sung Park scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against their north London rivals.

Park’s spontaneous header proved enough to gain three points for United, a result that would have been confirmed had Wayne Rooney found the net from the penalty spot late on and not the Stretford End.

Arsenal, for all their possession, proved fallible towards the United goal and failed to create any decent opportunities. Credit however must also be given to the strong United defence lead by a steely Nemanja Vidic and collected Rio Ferdinand.

The win sends United 2 points clear of second place Arsenal with a game in hand and means Arsene Wenger has not recorded a victory against United or fellow title contenders Chelsea in eleven attempts, losing ten of them.

Dimitar Berbatov was rewarded a place on the bench for his 5-goals in mauling of Blackburn, United’s last league game, as Sir Alex Ferguson opted for the oft effective Park, especially against the Gunners, in a five man midfield instead.

The tactic was reciprocated by Wenger and was the main cause of a match that failed to live up to its hyperbolic pre-match amble: it was scrappy and lacking, mostly, in fluidity.

Perhaps surprisingly it was Anderson who, operating off a lone Rooney, made the most impact throughout. The Brazilian eclipsed Arsenal’s young Englishman Jack Wilshere, his opposite: marauding going forward, pugilistic tracking back. With performances like this the midfielder will have no problem securing an extended contract.

Buoyed on by the Old Trafford faithful the home side exerted greater pressure than Wenger’s side. Rooney harried Arsenal’s defence and rushed debut goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny into sliced clearances, Nani went at Gael Clichy encouraged by the holding Michael Carrick and tireless Darren Fletcher.

The first chance came when an miss-cued clearance fell enticingly to Nani who, off balance, blasted a volley inches wide past the far post. Rooney was thrice afforded too much time to turn, his shooting though failed to draw inspiration from Szczesny.

The half was approaching its end when a deep Edwin Van Der Sar clearance was met by Darren Fletcher who flicked towards the Rooney. The England strikers first time glance to Nani sent the Portuguese winger goalwards.

When Nani eventually cut in to shoot on his left his drive was deflected off of Clichy’s heel and into the cold Mancunian air. Park, who had ran off of the left into the box and appearing off-balance and augmented, managed to adjust himself in seemingly contrasting directions to loop a header beyond the despairing Szczesny.

Arsenal, although having greater possession than United, were prevented from playing their characteristic football as Ferguson’s tactics to double up on Samir Nasri and Andrei Arshavin paid dividends.

Their only chances during the ninety minutes both fell to Marouane Chamakh who firstly headed into the arms of Van Der Sar from a difficult cross and then allowed Vidic time to recover and block after the United keeper parried a Nasri effort.

The late introduction of Theo Walcott, Robin Van Persie and returning captain Cesc Fabregas failed to penetrate an indomitable defence and Rooney could have instantly atoned for his penalty miss with a delicious half-volleyed lob but was denied by the impressive Szczesny.

English Sides Surrender Semi's...For Now

When the quarter and semi final draw was made last month it was widely expected that at least one English side would make it through to the penultimate round.

As the final whistle blew at Old Trafford lasnight, however, none remain.

For the first time since 2003 there will not be an English representative in the Champions League semi final. Football correspondents will no doubt say this mark's the beginning of the descent for the Premier League and that foreign teams have overtaken our own.

The truth is that this week revealed flaws in Arsenal and Manchester United.

Both teams found themselves in uncomfortable positions prior to kick off. Arsene Wenger's men, despite their well earn't draw last week at the Emirates, had to go to the Camp Nou and either win or gain a greater score-draw than their Spanish counterparts had achieved 6 days earlier.

United on the other hand lost 2-1 in the first leg and also suffered a late injury to the scintillating Wayne Rooney. An injury that had cost them dearly against Chelsea at the weekend and rendered him only half fit, but not entirely obselete, for the visit of Bayern Munich.

As it turned out, Arsenal, for all their attacking prowess in the domestic league, were made to look amateur by a slick, superior Barcelona and an Argentinian magician and United gambled away their place in the semi final.

Wenger's team had faced an uphill struggle and were further exacerbated by the injuries to Cesc Fabregas, Andrei Arshavin and William Gallas, neither of whom made the starting XI. This meant that Wenger operated a lone Nicklas Bendtner, hopeful that his midfield would compensate for the lack of strikers.

Wenger's squad though is thin on quality. Tomas Rosicky was woeful and looked fatigued early on, Theo Walcott hasn't re-emerged from his famous night in Zagreb and there remains a lack of quality replacements in defence. This as well as Bendtner's poor consistency.

Wenger has won many plaudits for the way his team play in the domestic league - Pep Guardiola, his European conqueror, has praised Arsenal's style - but become easily bullied against physical teams. The results against Chelsea and then Manchester United this season show that Wenger needs to instill a pragmatism into his squad, one where winning ugly is as much of an art as winning beautifully.

In defence of Arsenal, they were beaten by a Barcelona vintage that could dominate European football. Guardiola's team spread play with such energy and nimbleness it's difficult to see beyond them as victors in Madrid this year.

In contrast, United have won at least two of their three last championships, not to mention a Champions League, through graft and experience.

Ferguson has become increasingly dependent on players like Darren Fletcher and Ji Sung Park for big matches at the expense of a second striker. This emphasises two things: that without Wayne Rooney United lack goalscoring impetus, and their midfield hasn't the combination of flare and determination of yesteryear.

The sending off of Da Silva - for an foul reminiscent of the one he committed on Craig Bellamy in the Carling Cup semi final - also highlighted the risk that inexperience can cause. Ferguson, however, needs to put his faith in youth eventually to replace the diminishing contributions of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville - the last of 'Fergie's Fledglings'.

A smile as wide as The Channel will beam across Michel Platini's face this morning at the prospect of a multi-national final four and perhaps, for the sake of football, this should be something to embrace if not entirely coveted.

But make no mistake, the English will be back.