Arsenal silenced by United

By Jon Caswell

Second-half goals from Ruud van Nistelrooij and Wayne Rooney gave Manchester United FC a priceless Premiership victory against Arsenal FC at Old Trafford and ended the English champions' 49-match unbeaten run.

Van Nistelrooij penalty
Arsenal had not tasted Premiership defeat since the tail end of the 2002/03 season, but faced an uphill battle once Rooney had fallen under Sol Campbell's challenge in the penalty area. Van Nistelrooij, who struck the crossbar with a last-minute penalty in the corresponding fixture last season, rolled the ball to goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's left to give Sir Alex Ferguson's side a 73rd-minute lead.

Rooney rejoices
Ryan Giggs missed a good chance to wrap up the points when he raced through only to be denied by Lehmann's alert stop. But Rooney, celebrating his 19th birthday, sidefooted in Alan Smith's cross in added time to put the result beyond doubt and lift United into fifth position. Arsenal remain top of the pile, two points clear of Chelsea FC.

Seven-goal thriller
Lower down the table, Craig Bellamy's 90th-minute strike settled a pulsating game at Saint James' Park, where Newcastle United FC defeated Manchester City FC 4-3. After a goalless first half, Newcastle took the lead just after half-time through a Laurent Robert free-kick and Alan Shearer doubled the advantage just before the hour from the penalty spot.

Last-gasp winner
City hit back on 64 minutes with a fine individual effort from Shaun Wright-Phillips and Robbie Fowler equalised with a penalty three minutes later. Robbie Elliott's 69th-minute header restored Newcastle's lead but Wright-Phillips equalised again and the game seemed destined for a draw until Bellamy's flicked volley at the death.

Nilsson profligacy
A gritty display by Southampton FC earned them a point at home against Birmingham City FC and moved them off the bottom of the table. The visitors had the best chances to break the deadlock with David Dunn blasting over and Darren Anderton denied by Antti Niemi's excellent save. For Southampton, who have now gone four Premiership games without a goal, Dexter Blackstock hit the crossbar and Mikael Nilsson rounded Birmingham goalkeeper Maik Taylor only to shoot into the side-netting.

Portsmouth denied
In the day's other game, Middlesbrough FC denied Portsmouth FC a first away win of the season thanks to Stuart Downing's 74th-minute equaliser. Diomansy Kamara's 18-metre drive had put the visitors ahead in the fifth minute at the Riverside.