Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken of his belief that Arsenal, not Chelsea, might pose the greater challenge to Manchester United's aspirations of winning the "tightest title race ever" and being crowned champions for a record fourth successive time.
Two more goals from Wayne Rooney, taking his total for the season to 32, and a late Dimitar Berbatov header took United two points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win against Fulham and Ferguson has told his players they may need to win their final eight games.
"We are back in the lead, but Chelsea have a game in hand," Ferguson said. "It's also going to be a hard-fought tussle with Arsenal coming strongly now and I have a suspicion that they might yet mount the biggest challenge.
" To a certain extent, the title is in our hands because Chelsea have to come to Old Trafford and, naturally, that will be a massive match but, as I say, I am wary of Arsenal if they don't suffer too many more injuries to key players."
Rooney has now scored 24 times in his past 22 games after a relatively quiet start to the season and Ferguson believes the England striker has become the irresistible choice to be named footballer of the year. "I think he's a certainty," the United manager said. "You can't ignore his form and I think he has a great chance of winning both the players' award and the football writers' prize. He's been absolutely brilliant and is developing his game all the time. He's spending a lot of time practising and that's paying off on the football field."
Rooney, chasing Cristiano Ronaldo's target of 42 goals last season, is now two ahead of his former team-mate at the corresponding stage two years ago, and it will be of no surprise to anyone at Old Trafford that the former Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón spoke yesterday of there being an "obsession" at the Bernabéu to sign him.
Calderón believes his successor, Florentino Pérez, wants to capitalise on the financial uncertainty at Old Trafford by persuading Rooney to follow Ronaldo to Spain "if it is possible to spend again another €100m or €80m".
Berbatov described Rooney as "the best player in the world" after his two second-half goals and backed him to finish the season with more than 40 goals.
Ferguson agreed: "I said a while ago it would be impossible for him to get to 42 but he's on 32 now, so there's a challenge there. He's capable of scoring goals in our final eight games and maybe five more Champions League games. He's got 13 more games possibly to come so I'm not putting it beyond him."
The manager had a broader task for his team. "I have set us a target: win every game between now and the end of the season. Obviously it's a big ask, but that's what we must aim for if we are to achieve our objective of winning the championship again."We are in a good run of form in the Premier League, but our rivals are going well, too, and it's as well for everyone to understand that's what it could well take to come out top.
I have built a squad that should enable us to compete on all fronts and I am not going to prioritise except to say that it is essential we strain every sinew to win the league. That's the expectation and there is no hiding from it. Consistency is the name of the game now, and if I am honest we have had more off days than I would like."
