Park Earns Praise

Ji-sung Park is developing a habit of scoring important goals for United - and he delivered again in the biggest game of the season so far, scoring the winning goal in Monday's 1-0 triumph over Arsenal.

The Korean midfielder now has six goals this term, his best return for the Reds. Promisingly, he looks like he has plenty more goals to contribute. "He has a great scoring record against Arsenal and he has been in fantastic form recently," said Sir Alex.

And it wasn't just Sir Alex who was delighted with his contribution against the Gunners. Rio Ferdinand added: "Ji is a big-game player. That's a fact. He's a talented player and we love having him here. He is a proper team player and we fully appreciate that. He stepped up today and I was pleased for him that he scored."

Disappointingly, United will be shorn of the versatile midfielder's match-winning capabilities as he is due to take part in the 2011 AFC Asia Cup with South Korea. The competition takes place between 7-29 January. "Unfortunately we will lose him after 26 December," added the boss. "We're going to lose him for seven games, which is disappointing."

His absence may come at a cost, but only because of the impact he has had on United so far this season.