Deadly Dwight's demolition squad

Any match without Tony Adams and Martin Keown is an accident waiting to happen for the Frenchman and the first half yesterday was a personal disaster for Igors Stepanovs and Gilles Grimandi.

In matches which produce such stunning results, it can be difficult to strike the right balance between credit and blame for the scoring of goals. In the case of Latvian Stepanovs and Ukrainian Oleg Luzhny, however, the lesson has to be: beware of cheap imitations.

Drafted in from eastern Europe at a fraction of the cost of Jaap Stam, it was clear to see just why they were so cheap at Old Trafford yesterday.

Stepanovs was pedestrian throughout and was only allowed to continue after the break because the match was already lost. Pathetic though he was, Luzhny and Grimandi were equally culpable.

The Ukrainian allowed Dwight Yorke to free Paul Scholes from the edge of the area before watching him peel off and open the scoring after only two minutes.

Stepanovs then stepped out to let the striker run free at goal and double the advantage 15 minutes later. Before Yorke's second goal, Thierry Henry equalised for the vistors with a brilliantly crafted piece of play but that only highlighted the level of Arsenal's incompetence at the back.

David Beckham was determined to drag himself out of his recent slump in form and was effective and industrious throughout. The sign for Sven Goran Eriksson that he had returned to his best came in the 22nd minute.

Bursting out of his own half, he side- stepped Silvinho before releasing a pass which was perfect in every dimension. Yorke escaped the hapless Stepanovs and claimed his hat-trick.

Andrew Cole's suspension gifted the Trinidad and Tobago international his opportunity and he could hardly have accepted it more greedily. A neat turn and some more Keystone Cops capers in the Arsenal rearguard saw him find Roy Keane at the back post and the Irishman made it four.

Frenchman Grimandi then fell on his derriere, leaving Nicky Butt a free run to the dead ball line. His cross was met by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the front post. Five goals before the interval is fanciful in any contest; do it against your closest rivals and it's pure heaven.

The match had barely gone through the hour mark before the Old Trafford crowd were receiving majesterial waves from the king in the dug-out. Ferguson then sent on Teddy Sheringham and he crowned the day with a sixth.

Mikhael Silvestre, called into the French squad yesterday, revealed afterwards that the manager had inspired his team by urging them to adopt the same sense of cameraderie and determination which has inspired Leeds United and Liverpool to remarkable victories in Europe.

Silvestre said: 'Before the match the boss talked to us about the example which Leeds and Liverpool had shown by winning in a very English way. He said he wanted us to show that spirit and if we did he had a feeling that we could so something very special. It is clear that we did.'

The message could hardly be more clear for those still nursing an ambition to challenge United. Whether Ferguson retires or not, this is a team whose desire to win is far from being satisfied.