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Gunners Destroyed By Dead-Eye Dwight
"Dwight Yorke's trademark smile was positively gleaming yesterday as he netted an astonishing hat-trick in the first 22 minutes and made a complete idiot of Arsenal's Latvian defender Igor Stepanovs, who had been christened 'Stop-enough' by the end. His partnership with Gilles Grimandi was exposed ruthlessly by United, and Yorke in particular. The striker, in for the suspended Andy Cole, flew off for international duty immediately after the game and was on such a high that he could have got there without a plane."
Shaun Custis, Daily Express, 24 February 2001
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Video: United 6 Arsenal 1
Sunday's demolition of Arsenal immediately evoked memories of 2001's similarly one-sided affair at Old Trafford. Relive Dwight Yorke's finest hour in a United shirt...
The Background: United's 2000/01 Premier League campaign had been virtually flawless, and a 13-point lead had been established by the time of second-placed Arsenal's visit on 25 February. For the rest of the league, Arsene Wenger's side had an opportunity to pump a little life back into the race for the title. For United, the race could be ended well short of the finishing line - particularly with the Gunners' defence ravaged by injury.
The Occasion: Arsenal were virtually vaporised in one of the most memorable first halves Old Trafford has hosted. Dwight Yorke bundled in Paul Scholes' cross to open the scoring after three minutes, only for Thierry Henry to establish blink-and-you-missed-it parity before Yorke twice raced through on goal to plunder his second and third goals, sealing a hat-trick inside 22 minutes. Revelling against a hapless, ramshackle visiting defence, the Tobagan then crossed for the untouchable Roy Keane to ram in another. By the time Ole Gunnar Solskjaer added a fifth on 38 minutes, the previously jam-packed away end boasted scores of empty seats. Those who fled early were into the midlands by the time Teddy Sheringham –
