United took on Arsenal needing just a solitary point to secure their third Premier League title in a row, in time honoured fashion they did it the hard way, because Saturday's clash was to say the least nerve-racking, in the end they crawled over the line and the 0-0 draw was a fair reflection of a game of few chances.
The fact that United did not put on a show in their final Old Trafford game in what has been a very long and hard season will have disappointed some fans, but others will surely concur that on reflection it was nonetheless a very sweet day knowing that every desperate Liverpool supporter will have been glued to their TVs hoping to see Arsenal nick a goal or two that would have kept the Merseyside Reds title hopes alive.
True enough United could have afforded to have lost against Arsenal providing they picked up at least a point against Hull City on the last day of the season, but no one really fancied a dog-fight just a few days before the Champions League final.
In his post-match interview Fergie made it clear that he is not for retiring just yet as he went to talk about winning yet more silverware. Quite where United would be without Ferguson is a question the fans might ask themselves from time to time, because what he has done for the club is nothing short of remarkable and it's equally remarkable that his desire to keep on winning looks as strong as ever. When you see Fergie during the match, he gives the impression he is kicking every ball, his thirst for yet more trophies has yet to be sated.
For those like Benitez who have ideas of putting one over on Fergie by rubbing his nose in it, remember the United manager has seen them come and go before without fulfilling that pledge. United fans may well recall former Leeds United manager David 'my young boys' O'Leary, saying "I am looking forward to kicking Fergie's ass next season", only for him to get the sack not long after.
The next big challenge for Fergie and his team is the Champions League final against Barcelona later this month. The Catalan club secured their domestic title at the weekend. United may well be ruing missing out on the opportunity of winning another treble, but in truth an FA Cup final against Chelsea would have given the players a test they could really have done without prior to facing such difficult opponents in Rome.
United can still win a treble of sorts, but it's only plastic and comprises of the Fizzy pop League Cup, the Premier League and the Champions League. The World Club Cup is nothing more than a trinket and so while being as labelled World Champions sounds good it isn't really a serious competition, even if it admittedly sounds good.
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