Fergie readies for Arsenal

BEIJING, April 11 -- So much for Manchester United's reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

Without its twin terrors, United ousted AS Roma to reach a second straight Champions League semifinal on Wednesday.

"I keep saying it's the best squad I've ever had so if that's the case then why should I play them?" United manager Alex Ferguson said after masterminding a 1-0 victory over the Italian club and 3-0 on aggregate.

"We could not have had a better opportunity than playing a game at Old Trafford with a 2-0 lead that gave me the confidence that we could rest these players."

Carlos Tevez scored the lone goal with a diving header off a cross from Owen Hargreaves in the 70th minute, long after Daniele de Rossi missed a first-half penalty for Roma.

Ferguson was gambling to ensure Ronaldo and Rooney, who enjoyed a late cameo, are fit for Sunday's game against Arsenal in the English Premier League the first time since November's 1-0 loss at Bolton that neither of the club's most prolific scorers has started.

"I trusted all of our squad and quite rightly we have good players," Ferguson said. "It tells me these players can play in any type of game. There's something really special with this team."

Ferguson believes his players are in the ideal frame of mind to meet Arsenal.

United can knock Arsenal out of the title race if it wins at Old Trafford and leaves the Gunners facing a season without silverware following their European exit at Liverpool on Tuesday.

Ferguson's side remains on course for a double.

"I always viewed the Middlesbrough match as our most difficult game and I wasn't surprised with the performance of Middlesbrough," Ferguson told reporters. "They could have beaten us but we rescued a point out of it.

"The games against Arsenal and Chelsea are the two big ones. They are fantastic occasions which all the players look forward to. It's best if you go into the games in decent form and I think our form is decent.

"It will be a great game on Sunday. As we know Arsenal have been our main competitor for 13 years or whatever and it's not going to change on Sunday.

"It will be a hard-fought match and hopefully we will take the spoils."

United has been further boosted by the return to action of experienced defenders Gary Neville and Mikael Silvestre following long-term injuries.

Neville appeared as a late substitute against Roma after almost 13 months out with an ankle injury and other related problems and his every touch was cheered by the Old Trafford crowd.

"What he learned is how much he's appreciated by the fans. It was a great reception he got," said Ferguson.

"It's good to have the boy back. He's been through a hard time of it with persistent small injuries that were always de-railing him."

(Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies)