(Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

When Arsenal won the title in 2002, there was a statement from them that roughly said that the era of Manchester United’s dominance was over and it was Arsenal’s turn. Since then Arsenal have topped the table just once, whilst United have been crowned champions four times.

Five league games into the season and apart from the little hiccup at Turf Moor, Manchester United are looking good near the top of the table on their way to an unprecedented fourth consecutive title. If all goes to plan this could well be United’s most important season till date.

Going back to the last three years, Cristiano Ronaldo has been United’s talisman, a responsibility that now falls on Rooney’s shoulders. His contribution was more than what numbers can justify and departure to the Spanish capital has been amongst the most talked about signings in recent times.

Talking about most talked about signings, one cannot ignore Michael Owen. Whilst the Ronaldo move was inevitable, not many saw Owen coming. This could be a masterstroke in a lot of ways. England have qualified for the world cup and Capello is known to pick players who have regular first team football at a competitive level.

With two more qualifiers and a few friendlies left, Capello may reconsider. Capello’s attention and one more shot at the world cup will be definitely motivating for Owen. If Sir Alex can channel this motivation and convert it to goals, that could play very well into United’s hands.

The young guns, Macheda and Wellbeck have shown last season that when called upon they are more than capable of handling the pressure that comes with being a United player. However the key issue up front is to mould an effective partnership between Rooney and Berbatov.

In his first season at United Dimitar Berbatov got nine goals in 31 games prior to which he got 15 goals in 26 starts for Spurs. He is stylish, has the knack to be in the right places at the right time and the ability. When he scores he is a joy to watch. But when he fluffs sitters his style sticks out like a sore thumb making him appear lazy on the pitch.

Tevez’s departure should remove any insecurity and instil self-confidence in him. However, the more I start thinking of Tevez, the more I start to question Sir Alex’s judgement. Was sacrificing Tevez for Berbatov a risk worth taking? This question is likely to be answered towards the end of this season.

Creativity in the midfield will be needed more than before from Anderson and Nani. Valencia has the pace and delivery but he needs to do more than that to justify his signing. This leaves us with Tosic, Nani and Obertan. With Nani likely to feature in the league and Europe, Tosic and Obertan may find places in the cup.

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