Arsenal came to Old Trafford offering the best chance of breaking United's monopoly, but went away 16 points adrift and along with the rest of the Premiership, trailing hopelessly behind Sir Alex Ferguson's championship bandwagon. Just two minutes of the make or break clash had passed when when Paul Scholes dummied over a cross from David Beckham to let the ball run through to Yorke. A quick one-two with Scholes and Yorke whipped the return home to start the rout.

Arsenal briefly lived up to their billing of title pretenders by pulling one back through Thierry Henry's simple finish from a Robert Pires cross, but there was no stopping United and Yorke. Within two minutes they were back in front as the smiling assassin broke free of a faltering off-side trap and cooly slotted Roy Keane's well-weighted pass beneath an exposed David Seaman.

The England keeper then denied him a hat-trick by scooping a far-post header over the bar, but Yorke needed just another minute to complete his treble, latching onto a sumptious 40-yard ball from Beckham and rolling another calm finish beyond the helpless Seaman. There can be no doubt that the Gunners were missing Tony Adams and Martin Keown, but even when Igor Stepanovs and Gilles Grimandi got to grips with the hat-trick hero, he simply passed the goalscoring duties on to obliging team-mates.

Keane, who did as much to dampen Arsenal's early enthusiasm as anyone, was next on the scoresheet capitalising on Solskjaer's clever dummy to control and volley Yorke's cross low into the far corner.

Solskjaer was next in on the act, swivelling onto Scholes' near post cross to send the statisticians scrambling to see the last time Arsenal let five in in the league - it was 16 years ago at Goodison Park. That day their defence was breached open six times and had Seaman not been alive at his near post, Scholes' chest would have mirrored the feat even before the half-time whistle had gone.

When it did, Arsenal could not leave their Theatre of Nighmares quick enough, but somehow they were spared another six-goal stuffing as United eased off after the break.

Almost admiring their own amazing work of the previous 45 minutes, United picked and passed their way around the beleaguered visitors, for whom only the non-stop Patrick Vieira seemed willing to try and turn the red tide back.

Beckham almost caught Seaman out at his near post, Jaap Stam headed into the side netting and Teddy Sheringham, on for hat-trick hero Yorke, headed wide as United controlled and cajoled the pace of the game at will. He was replaced by Sheringham and to add salt into North London wounds, in the last minute the former Spurs man, set up by Solskjaer, swept the ball home from the edge of the box for number six

Even Fergie himself admitted that the six-goal salvo shot the Gunners' flickering hopes down. "If we had lost or drawn today Arsenal would still have had thoughts of catching us. But 16 points clear and with the goal difference we have, makes it impossible for them to catch us." For Arsenal and manager Arsene Wenger it was a bitter blow, the gulf in quality on the day was blatantly obvious not to mention the embarrassment for North Londoners at crushing defeat at the hands of their deadly rivals.

The ribbons on this year's pot were always going to be red and white and the Premier League could now start booking the engraver. Manchester United didn't clinch the title on this day but they all but sealed it for another year and it was only five more games before they were crowned Champions again in mid April for the 6th time in the 8 years of the Premiership.