United 4 Arsenal 0

16/ 2/2008

MANCHESTER United crushed arch-rivals Arsenal to cruise into the FA Cup quarter-finals and keep their treble dream alive.The Gunners may have the edge in the Premier League at the moment but there was no contest at Old Trafford where goals from Wayne Rooney, Darren Fletcher (two) and Luis Nani sealed the win.United were already three up when Emmanuel Eboue was sent off after 49 minutes, and with Rooney restored to the side and in great form there was no stopping the Reds.Sir Alex Ferguson said he was looking for a reaction to last week's derby defeat, and the boss was not disappointed.Both Ferguson and his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger made five changes with vital Champions League matches ahead next week.United made a blistering start it was no surprise they made the breakthrough in the 16th minute following a corner from Nani.Anderson flicked the ball on and Rooney headed it beyond Jens Lehmann for his 11th goal of the season.Three minutes later United made it 2-0 after good work by Nani on the left.The Portuguese player chipped the ball into the area and Fletcher marked his first start in two months by heading home, although his effort seemed to take took a deflection off William Gallas.Skill It was all United at this stage with Arsenal looking lethargic and out of sorts.Nani and Anderson were showing good skill while Rooney was bright after missing the derby defeat by City through suspension.Wenger must have been alarmed at the amount of room the England striker was being given by the Gunners’ defence, and although it wasn't Rooney, United made it 3-0 in the 38th minute.Michael Carrick sent over a pinpoint pass from deep, Nani was alert and skipped goal-side of Justin Hoyte to score with a low drive into the corner.Arsenal’s problems increased in the 49th minute when they were reduced to 10 men after Eboue was dismissed by referee Alan Wiley after a clumsy challenge left Evra on the floor.Rooney came off after 68 minutes and was applauded by England boss Fabio Capello.Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor was introduced in the 71st minute but three minutes later United made it 4-0.Fletcher scored his second goal of the game with a header at the far post following a cross from the irrepressible Nani.Adebayor joined Eduardo and Gilberto in the book soon after with United well on top and Nani beginning to showboat - much to the delight of the home fans.However he took exception to the way he was being marked and squared up to Gallas.United could have added to their tally but this was a super show nonetheless which secured their place in the last eight.