Man Utd are the best team in the country, says Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson believes his Manchester United side have established themselves again as the country's dominant force as they close in on a 10th Premier League title.

United's victory over Arsenal at the weekend, and Chelsea's draw against Wigan last night, means Fergie's men will be champions with wins in their next two games against Blackburn and Chelsea.

From the start of the season Fergie claimed that results between the Big Four of United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool would determine the outcome of this season's title race.

And with United having twice beaten Liverpool, taken four points off Arsenal and looking to do the double over Chelsea to retain the title, Fergie said there can be no doubt his team are the best once more. "I said results between the top four would be the key this season and that's been proved right," he said. "Thank goodness we've performed well and got results against our main rivals, because we've dropped points elsewhere.

"The Premier League has become much tougher in recent seasons. For example, we lost six points to Manchester City this season, which is something we didn't expect.

"We also lost at West Ham and Bolton, but the key is keeping those setbacks to a minimum.

"We've managed to do that and if we can win our next two games, then we're champions again."

Assuming Chelsea beat Everton on Thursday and United overcome Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, Fergie's men will go to Stamford Bridge on April 26 five points clear and knowing a win there would clinch the title.

That would leave United eight points ahead with two games left. But defender Rio Ferdinand, outstanding against Arsenal, sounded a note of caution and argued: "There are still games we have to win to make sure of the title, so we need to get the right results.

"If we do that, hopefully we'll be the team picking up something.

"It's that stage of the season where it's crunch time.

"The trophies are being handed out soon and the three points against Arsenal gets us a step closer to being able to pick up one of those trophies.

"We'll keep our fingers crossed that we can keep motoring on and playing the way we are.

"Against Arsenal we were a bit more open than we'd have liked, but the most important thing was to win.

"Coming from a goal down to win, we showed the confidence and resilience that has been a trademark of ours for the last couple of years - and long may that continue."

United's 2-1 triumph over Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday completed a remarkable 14-point swing between the two sides in just a couple of months.

When Arsenal came to the Theatre of Dreams in the fifth round of the FA Cup on February 16, they were five points clear of United at the top of the table. But a 4-0 thrashing by United proved the beginning of the end for the Gunners.

In a nightmare sequence, Arsene Wenger's brittle young stars have managed just one win in the league since then and must face up to a third straight season without any silverware.

Yet Ferdinand insisted there could be no sympathy from United for their bitter rivals.

"This is no time for sentiment," said the England centre-half.

"That might sound harsh, given what's happened to Arsenal in recent weeks, but I'm sure they wouldn't be worrying about us if we weren't able to win a trophy.

We only care about ourselves. Arsenal are a great side and play fantastic football.

"But we just need to keep our eyes on ourselves and if we do that, we'll go a long way to being successful."

Owen Hargreaves, whose 72nd-minute free-kick sealed victory over Arsenal, said United's players now sensed the title was within reach.

"It was a big win over Arsenal," said Hargreaves.

"We knew how important it was and we've only got a few games left now.

"We'll go to Blackburn on Saturday in good spirits. We don't have a game this week, so we can get some rest ahead of what promises to be a fabulous end to the season."

HOW THE BIG FOUR FARED

At the start of the season Sir Alex Ferguson claimed results between the top four would decide the title. And he looks to be right as our stats below show.

1. Man Utd: Played 5: Won: 4 Drawn: 1 Lost: 0 Goals For: 10 Goals Against: 3 Points: 13

2. Arsenal: Played: 6 Won: 1 Drawn: 3 Lost: 2 Goals For: 7 Goals Against: 8 Points: 6

3. Chelsea: Played 5 Won 1 Drawn: 2 Lost: 2 Goals For: 3 Goals Against: 5 Points: 5

4. Liverpool: Played: 6 Won: 0 Drawn: 4 Lost: 2 Goals For: 3 Goals Against: 7 Points: 4