"the greates ever"

United 8 Arsenal 2

Whatever City can do, United can do better.

While the blue half of Manchester looked set to dominate the footballing agenda with a stunning 5-1 win at Spurs, United went goal crazy against a depleted Arsenal side to steal the headlines and hammer home a warning to Roberto Mancini's team and the rest of the Barclays Premier League.

In a game that had everything - a missed penalty, a converted spot-kick, a hat-trick for Wayne Rooney, a red card and 10 goals, United simply romped home 8-2.

Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young (2), Nani and sub Ji-sung Park also hit the net with David De Gea superbly saving a penalty when the lead was a slender one. Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie replied for the crestfallen Gunners, who had Carl Jenkinson sent off in the second half.

United made their intentions clear from the start with Welbeck charging down Wojciech Szczesny and looking a real threat. Tom Cleverley and Welbeck shot wide and some of the Reds' passing was mesmeric.

So it was no surprise when the hesitant visiting defence failed to deal with Anderson's clever lofted pass and Welbeck steered a looping header over Szczesny for the opener. Chris Smalling dragged wide after setting up the chance for himself beautifully but, against the run of play, Arsenal were awarded a penalty when Jonny Evans pulled at Walcott's

champions

United 3 Spurs 0

There's no substitute for experience, although energy and enthusiasm are going a long way at Old Trafford at the moment.

Sir Alex may not be able to call on the likes of Edwin van der Sar, Paul Scholes or Gary Neville anymore, but in the place of cool heads the boss now has pace, power and, judging by this performance, no small amount of panache.

Against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Monday night, United's kids – we can call them that: the side Sir Alex sent out was the second youngest he's ever fielded in the Premier League – ruled the roost and goals from Danny Welbeck, Anderson and Wayne Rooney handed the Reds a victory built as much on vim and vigour as patient passing or tough tackling.

There was also beauty. Anderson's goal was pure pleasure, a simple finish after a crisp passing move and a cheeky backheel by Welbeck tore open the Tottenham defence to leave space for the Brazilian to blaze through the middle. That came sandwiched between two headers: Welbeck's opener and Rooney's second goal of the season, three minutes from time.

But while United were certainly brilliant at times, Tottenham were in this game for long periods – scores were level until 61 minutes – and played a pivotal role in an entertaining, end-to-end affair. The Reds started brightest, though, creating a pair of half-chances inside