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Angry Arsenal stormed out of Old Trafford fuming with referee Mike Riley after Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney combined to shatter their 49-game unbeaten record.

Riley had already annoyed the Gunners by failing to send Rio Ferdinand off for shoving Freddie Ljungberg over in the first half, a decision which proved crucial given the defender's brilliant performance.

But their tempers were really frayed 18 minutes from time when Riley ruled Sol Campbell had chopped down Wayne Rooney in the box.

TV replays showed contact - if any - was minimal but Campbell could not believe it and rushed towards Riley at the final whistle to make his point.

Amid all the turmoil, Ruud van Nistelrooy, whose last-gasp spot-kick miss 12 months ago sparked the ugly fracas even Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood felt was an embarrassment, kept his nerve to send Jens Lehmann the wrong way.

Arsenal poured forward looking for an equaliser but, with Ferdinand rock solid, their fire had been extinguished long before Louis Saha and Alan Smith combined to set up Rooney for the best 19th birthday present of all in the final minute of stoppage time.

It was Rooney's first Premiership goal since his £27million move from Everton last month and brought up United's 1,000th point since the Premier League began.

But of far more importance, it also breathed new life into his side's title challenge, reduced Arsenal's lead over them to eight points and gave watching Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich something to smile about as well.

The opposing managers might have spent the last seven days urging anybody who would listen to calm down, but once hostilities began, calm was not a word that immediately sprang to mind.

Ashley Cole began the game with a late tackle on Cristiano Ronaldo, setting the scene for a high-octane opening period which had both Ferguson and Wenger charging furiously to the touchline to complain at the treatment being meted out to their team.

Jose Reyes was on the end of most of the United abuse.

Gary Neville and brother Phil - making only his second start of the season after Roy Keane was ruled out with flu - were both booked for chopping the young Spaniard down, although Riley allowed half an hour of a bruising battle to pass before opening his notebook for the first time.

Cole had been the first player cautioned for a lunge on Wayne Rooney. By that time though, the England full-back had already been dumped on the ground by van Nistelrooy, who appeared to slide his boot down Cole's shin as the pair tussled by the touchline.

With Gary Neville and Sol Campbell exchanging heated opinions and stand-in skipper Rio Ferdinand rushing 40 yards to offer Patrick Vieira a few choice words, there was clearly little love lost between the sides.

Ferdinand's involvement could have ended after just 15 minutes when he barged into Freddie Ljungberg as the Swede attempted to race onto Henry's throughball.

A free-kick award would have brought certain dismissal for the £29million man but instead Riley waved play on.

Amid all the rough stuff, some football did break out during that fractious opening 45 minutes, with Arsenal looking more likely to score.

The hosts were indebted to Roy Carroll for a couple of fine saves which denied Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry, while Ryan Giggs wasted United's best effort early on, smashing a 10-yard effort straight at Campbell after Wayne Rooney found the Welshman with a neat cutback.

The obvious difference between the two sides was the slickness of Arsenal's approach play.

Whereas Ferdinand and Mikael Silvestre were at full stretch trying to contain Henry, Reyes and the impressive Edu, the Gunners rearguard seemed composed and in charge, Cole adding to his blossoming reputation by shackling Ronaldo completely.

For the first 15 minutes after half-time, the game continued in the same manner, albeit with slightly less emphasis on the physical aspect, as United looked to counter from deep whenever they could.

Paul Scholes lashed a volley wide from Rooney's corner and an inspired Ferdinand did brilliantly to stand his ground as Ljungberg threatened to charge into the area.

Slowly though, United gained parity in possession, even if Campbell and company remained unruffled in the Arsenal rearguard.

That was of course until Rooney embarked on the fateful dance past the England defender which left Arsenal seething.

United may still have plenty of work to do, but as their manager has pointedly expressed, they are not finished yet.




Teams
Man Utd: Carroll, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Heinze, Ronaldo (Smith 85), Phil Neville, Scholes, Giggs, Rooney, van Nistelrooy (Saha 90).

Subs Not Used: Howard, Brown, Miller.

Booked: Gary Neville, Phil Neville.

Goals: van Nistelrooy 73 pen, Rooney 90.

Arsenal Lehmann, Lauren, Campbell, Toure, Cole, Ljungberg, Vieira, Edu, Reyes (Pires 70), Bergkamp, Henry.

Subs Not Used: Van Persie, Taylor, Fabregas, Cygan.

Booked: Cole, Vieira, Edu.

Att: 67,862

Ref: M Riley (W Yorkshire).