Ruud has treble blast at Gunners

OLD TRAFFORD goal-king Ruud van Nistelrooy bagged the hat-trick which swept Manchester United to the Premiership summit for the first time in 12 months - and then followed his manager’s lead by wading into Arsenal.

Van Nistelrooy responded to Alex Ferguson's decision to push Ole Gunnar Solskjaer into a conventional two-man strikeforce by bagging the third three-timer of his Red Devils career and take his seasonal tally to 32.

The brilliant solo second which split a first-half penalty and a late deflected tap-in ranks among the 26-year-old's career highlights so far. But the £18.5million front man does not believe his efforts increased the heat on Arsenal because van Nistelrooy feels the Gunners have brought more than enough pressure on themselves.