With a point in his bag McClaren gives himself and his team a pat on the back as he dribbles and drools over United's striking options:
'Wayne Rooney is a superb player he can score at any level he wants. To stop people like him and Ruud van Nistelrooy you need to be organised, do everything correctly and have a bit of luck. We had all those things today.'
"It was the most happy of my three years coming here as boss, considering what we had done with a match in Europe in the week and also our injury problems. The result was a bonus and the result was great. I don't think anyone who saw the teamsheet before the game gave us any hope. The beauty of the game and sport is you can do anything, the underdog can have his day and we had it today."
But McClaren remains confident hat United are capable of catching Arsenal.
'Everyone gets a hiccup every now and again but to me, Manchester United are back to their best,' said McClaren. 'They will bounce back and I'm sure they will be thereabouts come the end of the season. Nine points is a lot when you are talking about a team like Arsenal but if United win their games against their rivals, you will soon start to see them catching up.'