Rooney turns table to gift Man. Utd. win over Arsenal

LONDON, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Wayne Rooney turned the table with a penalty shot to enable Manchester United to overplay arch rival Arsenal 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Man. United dominated the middle field at the beginning as Gunners' captain Cesc Fabregas absent due to injury. Darren Fletcher almost gave the hosts an early lead after nine minutes as he answered Rooney's cross with his chest at leisure but fired over bar in near range.

However, it was Arsenal that made the breakthrough when Andrey Arshavin fired a long shot amazingly from the left in the 40th minute with goalkeeper Ben Foster tipping it into the left top corner of the net.

Arsenal played much more aggressive in the second half and Robin van Persie forced Foster to block the shot with his leg.

In the vital moment, English striker Rooney pushed himself forward. When he sprinted into the box, Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia fell him and conceded Man United a penalty. Rooney equalized from the penalty spot after 59 minutes.

Suddenly, a stricken Arsenal seemed losing their pace while Man. United were encouraged a lot. Five minutes after the equalizer, Vassiriki Diaby stunned the visitors by heading Ryan Giggs's freekick into their own net and Gunners never came back with van Persie's last minute goal ruled offside.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea sealed their fourth consecutive win in the Premier League by beating Burnley 3-0, but Tottenham Spurs made the same achievement after overcoming Birmingham 2-1.

Nicolas Anelka slide Didier Drogba's cross in net seconds before the break. Then German Michael Ballack added a score for the Blues with a header two minutes after the restart. Five minutes later, Ashley Cole volleyed in a stunning third.

Liverpool was threatened to lose for the third time this season as they fell behind twice in front of the hosts Bolton. But a strong-minded Steven Gerrard fired home in the 83rd minute to seal three points for the Reds after Glen Johnson and Fernando Torres completed the equalizers.

Besides, Blackburn finished 0-0 against West Ham while Wolverhampton tied with Hull on 1-1. Stoke edged Sunderland 1-0.