United Dump Out Sorry Gunners

Arsenal's depressing fortnight took another disastrous downturn as they crashed out of the FA Cup following a 2-0 defeat at Manchester United. A fortnight ago, Gunners fans were talking optimistically of a Quadruple. Now they have only the Premier League to play for after goals from Fabio and Wayne Rooney either side of the interval sent United into the semi-finals. Arsene Wenger at least has a week to lift his troops before they are in action again but the mental scars of Arsenal's catastrophic collapse may not heal easily as they seek to overhaul a United side who ended their own trauma in perfect style ahead of their Champions League meeting with Marseille.

The backdrop to this fixture could hardly have been more gloomy. Between them over the past couple of weeks, two of England's biggest clubs have lost two Premier League games, a cup final and a Champions League tie. They have had a player sent off who shouldn't have been, not seen an opponent reduced to 10 men when they should have an imposed a blanket media ban. In addition, Sir Alex Ferguson and Wenger are both facing the wrath of a governing body for comments about match officials that went beyond acceptable levels. On that basis, neither Manchester United nor Arsenal would really have wanted to play the other knowing defeat would pitch a gloomy period into a crisis Not that you could tell from Ferguson's team selection. Seven defenders for a game at Old Trafford is hardly the norm for a man who has never been scared of attacking the best opposition.

However, as so often in the past, Ferguson clearly knows far more about his players than anyone else. In truth, Brazilian twins Fabio and Rafael have often caught the eye offensively, even though they have been occupying full-back berths. Given the opportunity to express their ability from more advanced positions, knowing Wayne Rooney had dropped back to fill a midfield hole, they duly did just that. Rafael could easily have put United ahead when he met Fabio's cross with a header he was unable to keep down. There was no such escape for Arsenal when Fabio surged forward later on, setting in motion a move that ended with a smart Rooney cross for Javier Hernandez. The Mexican's header was aimed for the far corner. Manuel Almunia could do no better than palm it away, straight to Fabio, who slid in and found the roof of the Arsenal net. On the touchline, Wenger must have had an awful sinking feeling, knowing another trophy was being snatched away from him after Birmingham and Barcelona had snuffed out their hopes on two other fronts.

Skippering a very strong line-up, Robin van Persie saw a curling shot turned round the post by fellow Dutchman Edwin van der Sar, the striker then heading the corner narrowly wide. Just before the interval, Samir Nasri fired a precise shot through Wes Brown's legs, forcing Van der Sar into another excellent save. Generally though, it had been a listless display from the Gunners, leaving Wenger with a job on his hands to revive spirits. Initially, it appeared the Frenchman's words had produced a positive effect. Van der Sar was twice called upon to keep Arsenal out, first when Brown turned the ball goalwards as he tried to intercept a Laurent Koscielny cut-back, the second when the Frenchman curled a shot to the far corner with the rebound.

The onslaught did not last. Or at least it was immediately halted by a second United goal. In sticking out a leg to stop Rafael's cross, Johan Djourou could only loop the ball high into the air. Rooney escaped Sagna's attentions and although his header lacked power, the direction was perfect, far enough away from Almunia but not too far to prevent him finding the corner from an acute angle. Antonio Valencia had played a part in the move as he made his re-appearance after sustaining a serious ankle injury in September. The Ecuador star diligently patrolled his wing as Arsenal threw caution to the wind. But with Van der Sar producing four outstanding saves to deny the visitors, one to repel substitute Marouane Chamakh, who had been presented with a free header by Sagna, there was no way back for the shellshocked Gunners. In fact, their evening got even worse as they ended the game with 10 men after Djourou had been stretchered off following a nasty collision with Sagna.

Berbatov: Bale One Of Best In World

Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov has lauded his former Tottenham Hotspur team-mate Gareth Bale as "one of the best players in the world''.Bale, who made a name around Europe after scoring a hat-trick at the San Siro in October, is in line to face AC Milan in the Champions League at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night, with Spurs holding a 1-0 advantage, after recovering from injury.

Harry Redknapp's side are again pushing for a top-four place this season and United striker Berbatov is delighted to see his old club doing so well

.

"Their position doesn't surprise me. When I was there I was aware of the young talent that is now their major asset - players like Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale have matured and become great players, '' Berbatov told United's website.

"When I was there Bale was a talented teenager, now he's one of the best players in the world. I saw he had potential. He trained hard and was pushing to be involved.

"I'm glad they kept faith in him - other teams were interested in buying him - now they're reaping the rewards."

Sheringham: United Lack A Leader

Former Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham claims that the club are struggling because they do not have a real leader in the side. United have lost three out of their last five Premier League games - including a painful 3-1 loss to Liverpool - as their challenge for the title has been somewhat derailed, with many critics pointing to a lack of quality in the centre of the pitch.

Sheringham won the Treble with United in 1999 under the captaincy of Roy Keane and now says that Sir Alex Ferguson's current crop are desperate for a similar style of player to take command of the dressing room.

"When you are a top team, you have to have a leader, a power house," he said. "It was always Roy Keane in my day. "Wayne Rooney has been that talisman when he's on top form, but he's not been there for six months. When your main talisman isn't firing and leading you, I think the other players need someone else to respond to.""Someone else needs to take up the mantle. Dimitar Berbatov has at times, but he's not really that sort of character. You need a leader for that great team."

Angry Nani Out For Up To A Month

Nani will be out for up to a month as he recovers from the nasty gash on his shin caused by Jamie Carragher, and he is reportedly angry Manchester United did not publicly complain about the tackle. United winger Nani left the Anfield pitch on a stretcher shortly before half time in his side's 3-1 loss to Liverpool on Sunday as referee Phil Dowd handed a yellow card to Carragher for the studs-up lunge that opened up Nani's left shin.

Nani had initially bounced to his feet to show Dowd the extent of the injury in an attempt to get Carragher sent off before collapsing to the ground in pain. Carragher reportedly went to apologise to Nani after the match but was first denied access to the United dressing room at Nani's request, before the Portuguese ignored the Reds defender outside the room as he later left on crutches.

Due to the depth of the cut on his shin, Nani will be sidelined at least until April, according to The Sun. Nani said on Twitter: "I would like to thank supporters for their good wishes and I hope to be back really soon."

The Guardian claims Nani is unhappy no one from the club publicly criticised Carragher for the reckless challenge. The club has imposed a media blackout while Sir Alex Ferguson fights a potential ban for his comments criticising referee Martin Atkinson for his performance in United's loss to Chelsea last week.

More Injury Woe for Arsenal

Arsenal will be without Cesc Fabregas for the FA Cup tie against Manchester United on Saturday after he suffered a recurrence of his hamstring problem.

Fabregas made his return to action in the 3-1 defeat to Barcelona on Tuesday but sustained an injury just a quarter of an hour into the game and was substituted in the second half.

"It was a shame because I felt really good to start with, but after 15 minutes I felt a pain and I knew it was over for me," Fabregas told TVE. "The desire to play allowed me to continue and get through but then I had to change." At his press conference on Thursday, Arsene Wenger revealed the injury would most likely keep Fabregas out for around two weeks.

"He had a recurrence of his hamstring problem," Wenger said. "He will be out for the next game and maybe for the next two games. "He said he was fit [to face Barcelona] and when Cesc Fabregas is fit you play him. He is of course very disappointed because it is becoming a bit of a problem for him, but it's very superficial."

Wenger also revealed he was in the process of trying to secure an emergency loan signing to cover for Wojciech Szczesny, who faces a significant spell out after sustaining an injury against Barca. "He has a dislocated finger with a tendon problem and we need the assessment of the specialist to see where we go from here," Wenger said. "He had a scan and is out for a while but how long I can't tell you." Asked whether he had a loanee in mind to cover for Szczesny, Wenger said: "Yes, but I can't tell you [who]."

Two Defeats In a Week

Dirk Kuyt hailed a "perfect day after his hat-trick gave Liverpool a 3-1 win over Manchester United.

Kuyt scored from close range on three occasions to put a dent in United's title charge, but owed a lot to Luis Suarez who laid on two of the goals for him.

"It's perfect," Kuyt told Sky Sports afterwards. "You dream about the hat-trick and to do it against United is the best feeling ever.

"I'm more than happy but I have to thank Luis because he played great and created two of the goals. They were quite easy goals, I used to score them in Holland when I played more like a striker. They count and I'm more than happy to take them."

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish would not be drawn on Jamie Carragher's tackle on Nani that saw the United winger stretchered off.

"I think he was fortunate to be playing for Liverpool today," Dalgish said when asked if his player was lucky not to be sent off. "It's not correct to talk about incidents because the match was played in a great spirit."

A United spokesperson confirmed after the game that Nani suffered a deep gash on his leg as a result of the challenge from Carragher, while it is believed the Reds defender visited the United dressing-room after the game to pass on his apologies to the Portuguese international.

Dalglish preferred to foucs on the positives for Liverpool, though, and was happy to finally give his club's fans something to cheer about after a difficult season.

"They deserved that for the discipline, application and pride shown in themselves and the club," he said. "It's been a tough season. It`s not finished yet but this has been the highest point so far for our supporters."

United Blank the Media After Anfield Loss

Manchester United failed to provide any post-match interviews after the 3-1 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday, with Sir Alex Ferguson and assistant Mike Phelan refusing to speak to the media.

Ferguson cancelled his pre-match briefing on Friday in protest at the coverage given to his post-match quotes at Chelsea on Tuesday that have landed him with an improper conduct charge, plus the furore that surrounded Wayne Rooney's elbowing of Wigan's James McCarthy last weekend.

In a pre-planned move, United also blanked the media Sunday. Ferguson did not speak to host broadcaster Sky Sports, either before or after his side's third Premier League defeat of the season.

Phelan, did not carry out his usual post-match engagements with the BBC, arranged due to Ferguson's long-standing feud with the organisation, while radio rights holders talkSPORT were also left without any comment from the visitors.

Should any of these organisations complain to the Premier League, the governing body will be forced to act, escalating the problem between Ferguson and the BBC, with the fines for his non-compliance still waiting to be made public.

And for the first time since 2005, even United's own television channel, MUTV, left a senior game without any reaction, which is an embarrassing situation in itself.

It is not yet known whether the media blackout will continue this week, ahead of United's FA Cup quarter-final with Arsenal, although discussions are bound to take place behind the scenes.

The only comments came via a club spokesman, who confirmed Nani will be assessed on Monday before the extent is known, and Rio Ferdinand, who was not even at Anfield, but offered an opinion via Twitter.

"Bad result today no excuses,'' the England skipper stated on the social networking site.