Manchester United assistant coach Mike Phelan believes Nani is finally proving he is good enough to play for the Premier League champions following his man-of-the-match performance against Arsenal at the weekend.

The Portuguese international has been one of Manchester United’s best players in their last three games against Manchester City, Hull City, and Arsenal, and Phelan suggests the penny may have finally dropped for the man widely tipped as Cristiano Ronald’s heir apparent.

Phelan intimates the player may have lacked the self-belief to perform for Manchester United, but now the Old Trafford faithful and Sir Alex Ferguson are beginning to see why they signed the former Sporting Lisbon starlet.

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There was none of that when Sky delivered the first 3-D broadcast of a sporting event. Though that may have been largely because Chelsea weren't involved. Nine pubs across the country had been allocated the privilege of watching Arsenal against Manchester United for an experimental first outing for the technology that commentator Alan Parry promised was "a new dimension" in sports broadcasting.

And what joys the clash promised: Andrei Arshavin's bobble hat bursting out of the screen, Wayne Rooney's spittle apparently shooting out towards the viewer, Sir Alex Ferguson's nose in all its multi-faceted glory. At the Slug and Lettuce pub, not far from the Arsenal stadium, an upstairs room had been set aside for the revolution. To facilitate the view, everyone was wearing special sunglasses.

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An ill-advised soccer boast was made recently in a New York bar by the chief executive of newly rich club Manchester City. Merrily counting entire farms of chickens before they hatch, Garry Cook didn't even look like he'd been drinking.

"This football club is going to be, without doubt, the biggest and the best football club in the world," Cook declared to a gathering of City fans who seemingly had enough to drink that they cheered as if they actually believed every word.

"I'll make no excuses for saying it."Given how Manchester United put its noisy neighbor back in its place this week, in one of the most dramatic matches this season will deliver, Cook must be feeling sorry now. Ultimately, all Cook proved is that the only cheap thing left in soccer these days is talk.

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BSkyB is aiming to do for sports broadcasting what James Cameron did for cinema with special effects blockbuster Avatar, with the move to air this weekend's Premier League clash between Arsenal and Manchester United in 3D.

The satellite broadcaster, which is showing the special 3D feed of this Sunday's Premier League clash in a handful of pubs across the country, claims it will be the first transmission of a live 3D TV sports event to a public audience.

Sunday's test broadcast comes ahead of a plan to roll out the 3D TV service to hundreds of the tens of thousands of UK pubs that subscribe to Sky TV from April.

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He tracks back and tackles, creates and scores. He's even kept goal at the end of England training, just messing about and saved a good few shots (and for all the problems between the posts, don't even think about it, Fabio).

But here are some cheeky little numbers to stir into the Rooney v Cristiano Ronaldo debate. Rooney's spree against Hull City took him to 84 Premier League goals for Manchester United, equalling.

Ronaldo's United total but achieved far more quickly (179 appearances to the Portuguese's 196) and mainly without the boost of penalties and free-kicks.

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United's fan base is huge, diverse and well organised through two main supporters' groups, and activists are seeking to use disquiet at the owners' plans to make the most of those contacts in the anti-Glazer cause.

The Manchester United Supporters' Trust is canvassing opinion on the way ahead with a view to eventually securing a change of ownership and a stake in the club. MUST believe that dismay at the Glazers' plans to take as much as £600 million out of the club's profits over seven years, revealed by Telegraph Sport on Tuesday, provides an opportunity to build momentum.

Among those who can expect to be approached is Jim O'Neill, head of global economic research at Goldman Sachs and formerly a member of the United board when the company was a plc, and bookmaker Fred Done, whose sponsorship of the club ended last season when he was outbid by Betfair.

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The 22-year-old striker came off the bench for the last 16 minutes at Old Trafford and got himself on the scoresheet when he raced on to Antonio Valencia's through ball before heading home.

The Senegal international was signed by the Red Devils last summer but remained on loan at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's former club Molde in order to get acquainted with the European game.

Ferguson drafted Diouf back into his squad after losing Federico Macheda to injury and feels he has a bright future ahead of him.  "We are quite excited about him," said Ferguson.

"The boy has great spring. He is quick, good in the air and looked to run behind their defence all the time. "He has a lot of good attributes we can use."

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The 26-year-old started the season as the club's number one but is now behind Edwin van der Sar and Tomasz Kuszczak.  "There is absolutely no chance of loaning Ben out," said Ferguson.

"Let's hope he gets some football that gives him a chance. It's Fabio Capello's choice. Ben's qualities will put him forward as a definite choice."  But with United out of the FA Cup, the Carling Cup semi-finals against Manchester City could be the only games Foster plays during the rest of the season.

Capello had been expected to take three keepers to South Africa, with David James, Robert Green and Foster the Italian's preferred stoppers, but Joe Hart's form for Birmingham could upset that status quo.  The World Cup is four months ahead," added Ferguson. "England are not endowed with great goalkeepers."

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Darren Fletcher will miss Manchester United's Barclays Premier League encounter with Burnley at Old Trafford. The Scotland captain was sent off for two bookable offences at Birmingham last week and serves a one-match suspension.

Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves will not be considered despite edging their way closer to a return after long-term absences but Edwin van der Sar is expected to feature for the first time since 21 November. Manchester United team from: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Neville, Rafael, De Laet, Brown, Evans, Evra, Fabio, Valencia, Park, Carrick, Scholes, Anderson, Gibson, Giggs, Obertan, Rooney, Berbatov, Owen, Welbeck, Diouf.

Chelsea and Manchester United will be hoping to keep their heads above Arsenal in the increasingly fraught title race in the English Premier League this weekend. Seven points separate leaders Chelsea from Manchester City in fourth and the top two will be desperate to make the most of home advantage when they take on Sunderland and Burnley respectively.

Chelsea led by 11 points at the end of November but now find themselves just one point ahead of United, with a game in hand, after slipping up a number of times in recent weeks. Chelsea won at Sunderland in August when they began the season so strongly but Chelsea captain John Terry says the team cannot afford to let too many points disappear.

We cannot afford any more slip-ups," he said. "Thankfully the teams in and around us have been slipping up as well, but Arsenal are right back in the frame again. When we beat them 3-0 (in November) I thought they were out of it, to be honest.

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