Arsenal in league of their own

IT’S accepted wisdom that there are leagues within leagues within the Premiership these days.

There are the perennial strugglers at the bottom, the rump in the middle hoping to grasp a European place and those for whom a spot in the Champions League represents a minimum ambition. Then there is Arsenal.

The mere suggestion might be enough to send Alex Ferguson into a boot-kicking fury but, increasingly it seems, his Manchester United side have been usurped at the pinnacle of the domestic game.

Just seven days after dumping the Old Trafford mob out of the FA Cup, the Gunners returned to Manchester and swatted away City like you would get rid of a fly on your best suit. At times the gulf in class was so great the home side might as well have asked for another ball with which to play. And this, don't forget, against a team who have dismantled both United and Newcastle at Maine Road this season.

"We got sucker-punched four times," sighed Keegan at an opening blitz which almost took the breath away. "They were at their most dangerous when we had a corner and after the first 20 minutes it was just damage limitation. I have watched Arsenal play quite a bit and they are on a different planet to us. I haven't seen anything which changes my opinion that they will win the Champions League this season.

"I won't spoil my weekend by watching it again it was bad enough live but, for the first time in a while, I will have to show my players the first 20 minutes because there are some harsh lessons to be learned."

In fact, the harsh lessons are simple. If you leave massive holes in midfield and defence against the quickest and most skilful set of players in the Premier League, you are in trouble.

Keegan attempted to take advantage of any tiredness remaining in the visitors' legs from their midweek Champions League exertions by naming a trio of attacking midfield players to supplement Nicolas Anelka and Robbie Fowler in attack. The results were startling, so startling that Arsenal beat their best time for grabbing four goals at Maine Road by a full 17 minutes. Given that it only took them 36 when they last achieved the feat two years ago, it was a fairly awesome sight.

Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Thierry Henry and Sol Campbell all scored as City collapsed like a badly-stacked deck of cards. With little pace of their own at the back, combating Henry was a particular problem, as the hapless Richard Dunne found out. It was Dunne who Henry amazingly sprinted past on the by-line to set up Pires' tap-in before the brilliant French striker fired home the goal of the game, taking a single touch to control Martin Keown's hanging 50-yard pass and just one more to score from the edge of the box.

"Thierry did really well," enthused Wenger. "He is fresh, sharp and motivated. He made a difference with his forward runs and made an excellent overall contribution."

Once City had cleared their heads, they played well in patches and, but for a series of excellent stops from Stuart Taylor, might have made the scoreline respectable. As it was, Patrick Vieira slotted in a fifth before Anelka tapped home a late consolation.

Wenger is too smart to admit it but with a five-point advantage and a massively superior goal difference, the title is almost in the bag: "Everything is in our hands and it's up to us to keep the performance level up and the morale and solidarity high."