Wayne Rooney can do so little wrong at present that he even predicted the correct result of Arsenal's visit to Liverpool on Sunday.

Now, the Manchester United striker will hope the second part of his 'double' comes up trumps too.

Rooney took his staggering run of form to eight goals in seven games for club and country on Saturday as he smashed home United's killer second in their 4-1 win over Middlesbrough.

The result briefly saw the Red Devils leapfrog Arsenal into the Barclays Premier League's top spot. And while Arsene Wenger's men regained the initiative - albeit by the slenderest of margins in the 'goals scored' column - it is just the way Rooney imagined it ahead of the crunch showdown between the top two at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

"After a dodgy start, we have done well over the last few weeks," said Rooney, immediately after the Boro game.

"It is a big week. We want Arsenal to draw with Liverpool, then, if we can beat them on Saturday, we will have had a really good week."

On current evidence, should such a scenario unfold and United open a three-point lead at the top, it is difficult to see the defending champions being clawed back.

Now on a run of eight successive league wins, the Old Trafford outfit also equalled a 100-year-old record of scoring four times in four games running, an amazing feat given Sir Alex Ferguson barely knew where the next goal was coming from a couple of months ago.

The major differences are the return to goalscoring form of Cristiano Ronaldo and the burgeoning partnership between Rooney and Carlos Tevez.

Many pundits felt the pair were too similar to form an effective partnership.

Yet, in just six games together the duo have scored nine goals. Their combination play for United's third at the weekend was flawless and it is increasingly hard to see how they can be stopped.

"It is an honour to play in this team and having Carlos alongside me is just brilliant," said the England international.

"He is such a clever player, really intelligent, and we are working well together.

"The best way to play football is to pass and move and I saw him start his run out of the corner of my eye, so I just gave him the ball."

No-one will expect United to grab another four goals at Arsenal but, after scoring just nine times in their first 11 games this season in all competitions, Sir Alex Ferguson's men have now netted 16 in their last four, with Rooney admitting the change in fortunes is astounding.

"It is an amazing turnaround," he said.

"The beginning of the season was a bit slow. We weren't playing too badly, we just weren't getting the goals.

"We have been scoring, playing well and winning recently, so we have to be happy with that."