Irresistible Nani gives Scolari a nudge

Manchester United 4-0 Arsenal

Portuguese winger Nani produced possibly his best performance in a Manchester United shirt, scoring one goal and creating two others to help his side to a convincing victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup at Old Trafford.

On this form the young flanker is making a good case for himself to earn a starting place in the national team alongside club colleague, Ronaldo. With Euro 2008 fast approaching, Scolari may be tempted to plump for Nani ahead of Ricardo Quaresma and Simao Sabrosa as Portugal’s second winger.

With Cristiano Ronaldo among several players rested by both sides, United completely dominated their rivals for this season’s Premiership with a superb team performance, setting them up perfectly for the midweek tie with Lyon.

United set a quick tempo from the start, with Anderson and Darren Fletcher’s energy in midfield dictating proceedings. Former Porto man Anderson had already tested Jens Lehman with a volley in the opening moments, and both he and Nani had a hand in the opening goal.

Nani’s corner was cleared to the edge of the box, where Anderson’s brave header directed the ball back into the danger area, with Wayne Rooney on-hand to nod the ball home to put the Red Devils ahead on fifteen minutes.

Nani magic

The second arrived just four minutes later, coming as a result of some superb wing play by Nani. The former Sporting man, who was deployed on the left wing, teased Justin Hoyte on the touchline before delivering a perfect cross for Darren Fletcher to head past Lehman.

Rooney pulled his finish wide when sent through on goal, before Nani got his name on the scoresheet on 37 minutes. The 21-year-old made a run across the Arsenal backline to latch onto Carrick’s sublime reverse pass and, after controlling expertly with one touch, fired a left-footed shot across Lehman.

The second half was equally one-sided, with Arsenal’s cause hardly helped by Emmanuel Eboue’s early red card for a high challenge on Patrice Evra. The continued pressure asserted by United in the middle of the pitch smothered the Gunners’ creative players, while Eduardo headed over from a Cesc Fabregas cross in what was the visitors’ only real chance of the match.

Anderson, who was outstanding in midfield, went close with a couple of attempts and Nani curled an effort wide, but the young Portuguese was again the crucial factor in Fletcher’s second on 73 minutes. In an almost identical situation to the first goal, Nani slowed the ball down when faced with Hoyte, before skipping around his man and clipping a left-footed cross to the back post for Fletcher to head in.

Showboating

Clearly in confident mood, Nani got a rouse from the Old Trafford crowd with some provocative ball juggling with his head in the closing stages.

The United number 17 was subsequently targeted for some rough treatment from frustrated Arsenal players, but enjoyed widespread applause from the home crowd throughout the remainder of the game, during which substitute Louis Saha twice threatened to make the scoreline even more embarrassing for the league leaders.

Manchester United:
Van Der Sar, Brown, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson (Scholes, 72), Ji-Sung Park, Nani, Rooney (Saha, 71)
Yellow Cards: Ferdinand, Fletcher, Rooney

Arsenal:
Lehman, Hoyte, Traore, Toure, Gallas, Gilberto, Fabregas (Flamini, 70), Hleb (Adebayor, 70), Eboue, Eduardo (Senderos, 71), Bendtner
Yellow Cards: Gilberto, Adebayor, Bendtner

Goals:
[1-0] Rooney, 15
[2-0] Fletcher, 19
[3-0] Nani, 38
[4-0] Fletcher, 74