THE temptation, unresisted by many, will be to view the events in the Barclays Premier League at the weekend as a Supernatural Sunday or even as part of a Wacky Weekend.

The truth, of course, is that to most sober observers the events at Stamford Bridge, White Hart Lane, The Stadium of Light and Old Trafford were almost wearily predictable.

A misfiring Chelsea team continued their poor domestic form against West Bromwich Albion on the Saturday, Manchester City lost yet again away from home, Tottenham Hotspur failed to score and so were undone and Arsenal were so insubstantial in a match at Old Trafford that they seemed to be collectively auditioning for the lead part in a production of Casper the Friendly Ghost.

The result in Manchester, too, did not disturb the Sunday slumbers of seismologists. Arsene Wenger has taken 22 Arsenal teams to Old Trafford. They have won on four occasions.

Their flaws were illuminated under the floodlights of Old Trafford yesterday. They lost a poor goal to a setpiece when Robin Van Persie, inevitably, scored from a header from a corner, their midfield were outmuscled and pressurised and their sole striker, Olivier Giroud, was not presented with a viable chance.

Arsenal's opportunity to stretch away at the top of the league thus floundered on their traditional shortcomings and on a United performance that was predictably belligerent.

This was a match of few chances. Wayne Rooney, who personified the United approach, could have added a second and Chris Smalling miscued a header at the back post. Arsenal were left to rue two Bacary Sagna crosses that slipped across the face of the United goal without a touch from a teammate.

David Moyes, maligned and besieged, is now in charge of a United team that stands above their city rivals and within five points of Arsenal. More pertinently, he may just have found his best XI. Nemanja Vidic left the field injured last night, but the best Moyes team might be the Serb and a fully fit Rio Ferdinand in central defence with that illustrious pair joined by Smalling and Patrice Evra in the back four, Michael Carrick sitting in front with Phil Jones, adding steel to the pace and guile of Antonio Valencia and Shinji Kagawa on the wings, and Rooney playing off Van Persie.

The Liverpudlian was the outstanding player on the park and he testified to truths about the Premier League and about winning football matches at any grade. The first ingredient has to be industry and Rooney ran like an exuberant labrador after a frisbee. At the end of a match that must have been draining for him, he formed part of the posse that closed down Arsenal in the final minutes and earned the foul that became the final act of an afternoon when the drama was reserved for the sheer cussedness of the United revival.

Rooney not only scampered but he clattered. He drew a yellow card but was constantly relentless in his pursuit of defenders and in his desire to do something, anything, to help his side in the pursuit of victory. Mesut Oezil, in contrast, has been highly praised this season but the German was reduced to the odd touch, the cute flick and to observing the frenetic action that was breaking out around him. When he was afforded space and opportunity, particularly in the second half, his sublime passing was fallible, especially when he found Jones rather than a yellow shirt when Arsenal broke with purpose towards the end of the match.

United, though, were uniformly purposeful. The defence was solid, even after the withdrawal of the injured Vidic. Kagawa is finally making an impact - even though his contribution was mostly tidy rather than edgily dangerous yesterday - Valencia is direct and tough, and Rooney and Van Persie have both technique and tenacity.

This mixture was enough to undo Arsenal who started tentatively and only gained some momentum in the second half. Wenger, who lost Per Mertesacker to illness before the match, was compromised by his inability to add to Giroud as an attacking option as Arsenal desperately sought a goal.

The appearance of Nicklas Bendtner from the bench was a physical rebuke to Arsenal's summer recruitment. Oezil is a top-class player but he joins a a cadre of midfield players that would fill a bus. Giroud stands alone as a genuine striker at Arsenal.

Moyes was correct when stating that "this was a big result for us" but he pinpointed his side's "determination and commitment" as key factors in controlling the early passages in play and ultimately winning a match that throws them back into contention for the title. "Nobody is going to run away with it," he said of the title chase as Arsenal pulled up lame last night.

Wenger believed his side had played with an early nervousness and rushed their passing, causing them to lose possession easily. He was correct to be more encouraged by his side's second-half display but that came when United had the decisive advantage of a goal lead. "We were very, very, very close on several occasions," he lamented. "I was surprised we were caught on the setpiece."

He may have been the only one.