Hargreaves steps up rehab

Owen Hargreaves has taken another positive step is his recovery from a long-standing knee problem by making an appearance at Manchester United's Carrington training ground.

The Red Devils midfielder has been plagued by a tendonitis complaint since his days with German giants Bayern Munich.

It was hoped that he had shaken off the injury when he completed a big-money move to Old Trafford in 2007.

He was able to steer clear of the treatment table during his first season in England, rounding off a memorable campaign by helping United to overcome Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final.

However, the problem resurfaced at the start of last season and it was decided that surgery was the best course of action to take in an effort to rid him of the niggling ailment.
Specialist

Hargreaves travelled to America to see renowned specialist Dr Richard Steadman, who has helped numerous high-profile sports personalities overcome ligament problems in the past.

The England international remained in the States for an extended period of rehabilitation after going under the knife, so his progress could be monitored.

It has now been decided that he is free to return to Manchester, but the physios who have been working with him in America have followed him back across the Atlantic.

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that he will not rush Hargreaves back into action, wary of aggravating the injury again.

He has, however, included him in his squad for the Champions League group stage and is optimistic that the 28-year-old could be back to full fitness by the end of November.

Ten-man United go through

A Danny Welbeck goal saw ten-man Manchester United progress into the last 16 of the Carling Cup at the expense of Wolves.

The holders went down to ten men on the half-hour mark when Fabio da Silva was sent off for bringing down Michael Kightly on the edge of the box.

They then took the lead in the 66th minute when Welbeck played a one-two with Michael Owen before burying the ball into the right corner, giving Wolves keeper Marcus Hahnemann no chance.

Wolves substitute Kevin Doyle had a couple of half-chances but United put in a professional performance to easily hold their opponents at Old Trafford.

As expected, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson changed his entire starting line-up from Sunday's dramatic derby win over Manchester City.

This meant opportunities for Michael Carrick and Nani, who both missed out at the weekend, plus Owen and keeper Tomasz Kuszczak who, in their own individual way, had something to prove.

Owen has now shown his goalscoring instinct remains but, as a 90-minute player, he remains a bit of an unknown.
Fairness

In fairness to the veteran forward, the presence of Federico Macheda and Welbeck alongside him meant he had to do more tracking back than he would normally expect and it was only after United's numbers were reduced that he really came into his own.

Kuszczak must have sensed a Premier League start at Stoke would follow an eye-catching display given Ben Foster's pitiful experience against the Blues, when he was directly responsible for one goal and hardly covered himself in glory with the last.

The Pole benefited from Fabio's departure too, producing a fine fingertip save to deny former United midfielder David Jones with the resultant free-kick.

All in all then, with the contest turning into a keenly-fought affair instead of the sterile stalemate that had gone before, the sending-off was no bad thing, except for poor Fabio, who cut a dejected figure as he made his way off the field.

In truth, the Brazilian could have no complaints.

Put in trouble by Jonny Evans' failure to win an aerial duel with the robust Stefan Maierhofer and Wes Brown over-running the loose ball which momentarily escaped his vision, Fabio looked like getting back to challenge Kightly.

Unluckily

Unluckily, he slipped just at the wrong moment, so in sticking out a despairing arm to prevent Kightly charging clear into the box, he brought the Wolves man down for what was ruled a professional foul.

Owen had United's best chance before the interval but could only turn a header straight at Hahnemann, who experienced his own Foster moment just before the break when his attempted clearance was charged down by Welbeck but fortunately for the veteran American, it bounced to safety.

A surging Welbeck run created an opportunity Darron Gibson should have done more with, and only Nani's poor cross prevented him setting up Carrick after Gary Neville had sent the Portugal wide-man racing forward.

The goal, when it eventually came, just emphasised the gulf in class.

Wolves thought they had the situation under control when Gibson rolled a sideways pass to Carrick 30 yards out.

But within an instant, the England midfielder had created space for Welbeck, whose first time pass was returned in equally promising manner by Owen before he buried the ball straight into the bottom corner, as befits a player currently making the graduation from England Under-19 to Under-21 duty and surely destined for even higher honours one day.

Welbeck departed to a standing ovation from United's lowest crowd for four years - which still exceeded 50,000 - for another teenager, Norwegian Joshua King, of whom very big things are expected.

With a bit more composure and a little bit of luck, King might have marked his debut with a goal too, although ultimately one proved to be enough.

Manchester derby : United v City

United welcome local rivals Manchester City to Old Trafford on Sunday in what promises to be the most evenly contested derby in years.United will be eager to show who is the boss in Manchester and also City's extravagant spending this summer, is vastly exaggerated.

United haven't looked back since that shock defeat to Burnley and warmed up for Sunday's derby with a winning start to their Champions League campaign in Istanbul.City will not be without confidence themselves having won their opening four Premier League games culminating in a sensational win over the Gunners, a result which had many, not just tipping City for a top-four spot but a full-on title tilt.

Ferguson has fuelled the fire considerably ahead of the clash after he described City's behaviour following their capture of Carlos Tevez as 'arrogant' and 'cocky' before declaring that he still classed Liverpool as United's main rivals.

Rooney will be the main weapon of United as the England man is finding the back of the net consistently . City will be without their top scorer Adebayor as he is suspended for the match . Rio Ferdinand remains doubtful with a groin problem, while Paul Scholes is suspended.

Former United idol Carlos Tevez is also a doubt after he injured his knee playing for Argentina last week. Robinho will miss out with an ankle injury so Benjani, who is also struggling with a thigh problem, and Craig Bellamy could be called upon in attack by Hughes.City are also sweating on the fitness of influential midfielder Stephen Ireland (ankle/foot) while Roque Santa Cruz (knee), Vincent Kompany (ankle/foot) and Michael Johnson (hip) are definitely out.

Fergie wants Roo in the middle

Sir Alex Ferguson has declared that Wayne Rooney is at his best when play in the centre-forward spot, rather than when he is roaming around.

Rooney has scored four Premier League goals for Manchester United in the current campaign, placing him on par with international team-mate Jermain Defoe. He has scored against Birmingham, Arsenal and had a brace at Wigan.

The Red Devils want Rooney to play a more traditional centre-forward role than in previous years, with Ferguson believing that Rooney will fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo, in terms of scoring at least.

Rooney has welcomed the opportunity, but Ferguson understands the 23-year-old is prone to roaming.

Ferguson told Inside United magazine: "The boy's got a real hunger and drive about him. He has so much energy that sometimes he overdoes it in the sense that he wants to use it all; he'll drop into midfield or he'll go outside left."

"But he's young, and young players tend to sometimes be that way - they want to spend all their energy on the pitch."

"But if he concentrates like he did at Wigan and spends more time in the central areas rather than the wide positions then he will get goals. There's no doubt about that."

Rooney has been a regular scorer since joining United in 2004, however Ferguson suspects Sir Bobby Charlton's club goals record of 249 will be difficult to beat.

"It'll be very tough," Ferguson said. "Sir Bobby's record is 249 goals, so at this stage of Wayne's career I'd say he'll have to do very well to get anywhere near that."

FIFA: No Man United complaint

FIFA say they have received no complaint so far about Manchester United's signing of Paul Pogba last month.

French club Le Havre have said they will ask FIFA to investigate, claiming the teenager had agreed to join them, raising fears United could suffer the same punishment as Chelsea who have been banned from signing any new players until January 2011 for inducing Gael Kakuta to break his contract.

Football's world governing body said today they have yet to receive a complaint.

A FIFA spokesman told Press Association Sport: "There has been no receipt of any complaint by Le Havre regarding this player as of today."

United would launch a vigorous defence of their position if the case was referred to FIFA as they insist they have done nothing wrong.

A club spokesman said: "It is complete nonsense. Everything has been done within UEFA guidelines."

However, Le Havre managing director Alain Belsoeur claims to have documentation showing United offered inducements for Pogba to join them and has vowed to include it in submissions to FIFA.

"We are still pursuing our case," said Belsoeur.

"It is a very serious case. We are confident that we'll win because it is in the best interests not just of our club but of sport."

Rooney pledges commitment

Manchester United star Wayne Rooney insists he would only ever quit the club if he was no longer wanted at Old Trafford.

The England striker watched as Cristiano Ronaldo walked away from the Premier League champions to move to Real Madrid in a world-record deal this summer.

However, Rooney, who joined United from Everton in 2004, has no intention of following the lead of his former team-mate.

The 23-year-old is adamant he does not see a reason to leave and that he would have to be forced out of the Red Devils by boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

Rooney said in The Sun: "I've always said I love this club and, as long as I'm wanted here, I'll play here.

"It's as simple as that. I can't see one reason why I should want to move.

"I've everything I want. My family are just 30 minutes away, I'm settled and I honestly can't see me going anywhere else unless I'm told otherwise by the manager."

United beats Arsenal as Wenger is send to the stands

Manchester United ended Arsenal's perfect start to the season as Abou Diaby's own goal gifted the Premier League champions a 2-1 win at Old Trafford.

Diaby headed a Ryan Giggs free-kick into his own net on 64 minutes after Wayne Rooney's penalty had drawn United level following Andrey Arshavin's first-half opener.

Darren Fletcher volleyed United's only real chance of the first half off target on 10 minutes before Arshavin narrowly failed to find the top corner of Ben Foster's goal.

Arshavin could easily have earned the Gunners a penalty on 38 minutes following a rash challenge by Fletcher, but two minutes later the Russian maestro fired the visitors ahead.

Collecting the ball 30 yards from goal, Arshavin turned into space before firing a crisp drive which was helped on its way into the net by Foster.

Though Foster may feel he could have done better with the goal, he kept United in the game in the early moments of the second half when flicking out a foot to deny Robin van Persie from close range.

Foster's opposite number Manuel Almunia then allowed the hosts to draw level on 59 minutes as he brought down Rooney in the box and the United striker stepped up to send the Spaniard the wrong way from the spot.

Van Persie curled a free-kick from near the right touchline against Foster's crossbar on 63 minutes and just 60 seconds later United struck decisively.

Giggs whipped in a free-kick from the right and Diaby, under no pressure from a United player, headed the ball past the helpless Almunia.

Dimitar Berbatov and Nani both wasted golden chances to settle any late nerves before Arsene Wenger was sent to the stands after Arsenal saw a goal ruled out deep into stoppage-time after William Gallas had strayed offside.
Running riot

A United win had all looked so unlikely at half-time, as Arshavin threatened to run riot.

The Russian might have scored earlier than he did too when Foster flapped at a Van Persie corner.

The former Zenit St Petersburg man made a conscious effort to place a shot towards the top corner. Foster was not the only anxious face to watch it drift narrowly wide.

Given what happened immediately afterwards, Foster would probably have preferred referee Mike Dean to have got his decision right when Fletcher slid into Arshavin and cut him down inside the box.

There could have been few clearer penalty claims and Dean was standing near enough to make the perfect decision. Inexplicably, he chose to say no.

Instead, Arsenal maintained their offensive. The impressive Denilson slid a pass through to Arshavin, who had found space between United's defence and midfield which Ferguson's team selection was supposed to prevent.

Quickly Arshavin turned and let fly with a rasper of a drive.

There was plenty of pace on the shot but England goalkeepers should really be doing better than pushing it into the roof of the net, as Foster did.

Nemanja Vidic came close to levelling straight away for the hosts but, as they trooped into the tunnel for a dismal half-time debrief, the best they could actually reflect on was Fletcher's early chance and a Rooney free-kick that curled narrowly wide.

Strangely given how one-sided the opening half had been, Sir Alex Ferguson did not try to change things during the interval. And his team were almost out of the game before he had retaken his seat.

Arshavin sped past John O'Shea as though the Irishman was not there to reach the by-line and picked out Van Persie with a teasing low cross that looked certain to be number two until Foster stuck out a leg to make a magnificent save.

Surged back

At that point, there seemed to be only one winner. How wrong those doubters were as Ferguson's team surged back, Giggs the architect behind the comeback just as Arshavin had sparked Arsenal earlier.

The difference was Dean said yes when United claimed their penalty as Rooney went crashing to the ground after Giggs had supplied the pass that sent him through one-on-on with Almunia.

Questions were asked when Rooney did not take the one Michael Carrick missed at Burnley. There was no need this time as Rooney went straight for the ball, put it on the spot and promptly sent Almunia the wrong way.

Any pretence at defence was now swept away amid the fervour of an occasion that threatened to become a classic.

When Diaby was hacked at by Rooney and Wes Brown, both men were booked, Van Persie was offered the chance to curl a free-kick at Foster's goal which thudded against the crossbar.

A minute later, from a very similar position, United got their second.

In truth, Giggs' free-kick would not have threatened Almunia if Diaby had not stuck his head on it and deflected it straight into the corner of his own goal.

United substitute Berbatov hopelessly shot wide when through on goal before Nani missed a gaping goal after the Portuguese winger's first shot was parried by Almunia.

In the fifth minute of injury-time, Van Persie slid the ball past Foster, but the linesman's flag had already been raised after Gallas strayed into an offside position.

It was too much for Wenger, who lashed out in frustration and was sent to the stands by Dean. After a laughable delay as Wenger got as near to the action as he could by clambering onto the top of the dug-out, the Frenchman made his way to the tunnel, lingering long enough to witness the last dregs of an epic.