Owen gets in on the act

Owen Hargreaves had no doubt he was the man to take the free-kick which gave United a decisive 2-1 victory against Arsenal.

The midfielder had earlier been denied the chance to take a free-kick by Cristiano Ronaldo, but revealed he didn’t even listen to the Reds’ top scorer before stepping up to curl home the winner in the 72nd minute.

The 27-year-old said: “We had an earlier free-kick and I said ‘I’ll take that’, but Ronny said ‘it’s too far for you’.

“The second one was a bit closer and it was a good distance for me so I didn’t ask him!

“I score goals on counter-attacks, from long distance or free-kicks and if I can get a chance to contribute, I’m very happy with that.”

Hargreaves admitted United were stretched too often by the Gunners in the first half, but was pleased with the way the Reds responded after the break.

“I thought it was an open game – too open in the first half,” he said. “The distances were too big and there was a lot of running to be done.

“We needed to tighten up a bit in the second half because Arsenal were the better team and made it difficult for us.”

Hargreaves was full of praise for Ronaldo, who showed nerves of steel to bury his penalty after referee Howard Webb had ordered him to retake it.

"He was under huge pressure but it didn't faze him and he didn't doubt himself for a second. That's why he's the best at the moment."

Rio Ferdinand had another excellent game as captain in the heart of the defence and he was delighted by United’s fighting spirit after conceding the first goal to Emmanuel Adebayor early in the second half.

Ferdinand said: “It was a massive game for us. We don’t go a goal down at home very often, but we showed true grit, determination and a great team ethic to claw our way back into the game, as we did at Middlesbrough last week.

With four games to go, United are now six points ahead of Chelsea, who play Wigan on Monday, and nine ahead of Arsenal, who are effectively out of the title race.

Rio concluded: “The three points, no matter who you play against, are important. But there are more games to be played – the title’s not handed out now. We need to win our remaining games and if we do that, we’ll be champions.”

Hargreaves and Ferdinand were talking to Sky Sports and MUTV.