'Batter them!' - Wayne Rooney delivers hilarious four-word response to comparison between Mikel Arteta's Arsenal & vintage Man Utd team featuring Cristiano Ronaldo

In the 2007-08 season, United edged Chelsea in the Premier League and then beat the Blues again, this time in the Champions League final in Moscow. That team was blessed with the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was the world's best player at the time. After winning Europe's top competition for a third time, the Portuguese spoke about just how good his team was. 

He said: "I thought we were going to lose. I had played well and scored a fantastic goal, but I had missed my penalty and it felt like the worst day of my life. That can happen in a shoot-out - they are a lottery. But my team-mates did a proper job and took great penalties and that's the important thing. I feel very proud for them. It means everything to me - now it is the happiest day of my life. We showed this season we are the best team in Europe and in England and it's a great feeling. Next season we will try to do the same. The team is still young and we have improved a lot. I think we have a good chance again next season. To win a trophy like the European Cup gives you great motivation. The lads will look forward to that, it's a great challenge and we want more."

While this campaign has only just gone past the halfway point, Arsenal are seven points clear at the top of the Premier League and have won all seven of their Champions League matches so far, the last of which was an impressive 3-1 win at Inter on Tuesday. Arteta's side, who are also in with a shot of winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season, are flying high at present, something the Spaniard is delighted with. 

He told Amazon Prime after the Inter victory: "I'm very proud of the team. We said before the game, we needed a special performance and we've certainly done that today. We went to another level and to do it at the San Siro against one of the best teams in Europe is something else. It was about trying to be better than them. They manage and control the games in a very good way, and we knew we would have to do that on the pitch and with subs."

The former Gunners player also lauded the impact of strikers Gabriel Jesus and substitute Viktor Gyokeres, who both scored at San Siro. He said: "There's an unbelievable player, and the bigger the game, the more comfortable he plays. He [Jesus] deserves the man of the match award.

"Great impact. The game was taking a shape that fit him [Gyokeres] very much. He had two chances and put one away. For him, it's the second away game he's done very well, and he's finding some consistency."

Before Arsenal put Inter to the sword, ex-Gunner Theo Walcott asked Rooney how this north London team would stack up against his 2008 United team. 

In response, the 40-year-old simply said: "Yeah, we'd batter them." After laughing at his remark, he added: "I think we would."

Arsenal, who sit seven points clear of Manchester City and Aston Villa in the league, will hope to extend their lead at the top when they host United at Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon. If results go their way this weekend, Arteta's side could be out of sight as they bid to win their first league title since 2004.