THE dazzle may have dimmed but the desire remains undiminished.
By sheer force of will, Manchester United dragged themselves past Arsenal on Saturday.
And no one typified the utter determination to win more than Wayne Rooney.
The England striker chased everywhere in the cause but afterwards even stalwart fans of the champions claimed their side were lucky.
How many times do we have to visit the subject of luck and United?
Alex Ferguson's side have been 'lucky' too many times for it to be simply down to fate and fortune.
United create these results by a determination never to give in, never to accept that a cause is lost, a game is up.
They showed it again on Saturday, after being totally outplayed for a good hour, hitting back with two goals in five second-half minutes to win.
Clearly, United can bounce back from setbacks. Arsenal, on the other hand, unfortunately see them as a personal afront and let them tear into their soul to the detriment of what they do on the pitch.
You could sense the Gunners were still carrying a major chip on their shoulder from the Eduardo 'dive' row that marred Wednesday's Champions League win over Celtic.
Not that they had learned their lesson as Emmanuel Eboue proved with a disgraceful unassisted tumble that will not be beaten for the worst fall all season.
While Arsenal became more desperate, United stuck to their belief that victory would be theirs. And how they needed it.
After their shock defeat at Burnley they simply could not afford another reverse here.
Yet despite the victory there is cause for concern for the Old Trafford faithful.
Chelsea's destruction of Burnley at Stamford Bridge sharply put United's collapse at Turf Moor into perspective and there is every reason to fear they may not be good enough to retain their title.
Belief can only take you so far.
No matter how Ferguson reshapes his team they simply cannot do anything to make up for the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo. Remember how United took Arsenal apart in the Champions League semi-final last season.
Suddenly there is little between the teams. For United the pace is gone, the glitter has gone.
And it appears only one man can carry the can which has now lost it's fizz.
That man is Rooney.
Ferguson talked up Darren Fletcher's performance after the game, but it was Rooney who won it for United.
Not just with his penalty, but with the way he drove the team forward. All United fans must be crossing their fingers this Trojan of a player remains fit throughout the season.
Rooney was pushed into the shadows by Ronaldo's brilliance over the last two seasons. Now he is fully in the spotlight and ready to shine.
Ferguson could do worse than hand him the captain's armband now if he wants an inspirational figure to lead his side.
Rooney had to pick United up after they went behind in the first half from a superb 25-yard Andrey Arshavin strike that, in truth, keeper Ben Foster should have kept out.
It seemed justice had been done for the Gunners as seconds earlier they had been denied a certain penalty when Arshavin had his legs taken away by Fletcher.
While Foster was at fault for the Gunners goal his outstretched foot saved United from what would surely have been a defeat just after the break.
Robin van Persie got ahead of his man and flicked an Arshavin cross towards goal from point-blank range but Foster instinctively stuck out a foot to deny him.
In the 59th minute United somehow were level and there was no question it was a penalty, either.
Rooney roared into the box on a diagonal run and was needlessly felled by Manuel Almunia. Just what the Arsenal keeper was doing charging out to that part of his area only he will know.
Rooney picked himself up and coolly put it away.
United's winner was extremely fortunate, Abou Diaby, otherwise superb on the day, headed a Ryan Giggs free-kick past his own keeper.
How had Arsenal managed to throw this away?
Wenger's frustration finally boiled over in injury time when Van Persie's strike was rightly ruled out for offside.
He kicked out at a plastic drinks bottle on the touchline and was immediately reported to ref Mike Dean by the fourth official. Lee Probert is his name - and clearly he wanted to be the centre of attention at the end.
Wenger was sent to the stands and, almost comically, couldn't find anywhere to sit so stood arms outstretched above the dugouts.
It made you wonder if Fergie had done the same would the official have reacted in the same way? No chance. Wenger is too easy a target.
United now head into the international break with belief partly restored and Arsenal licking their wounds.
Transfer United's belief to Wenger's team and you can see them being title challengers. Unfortunately there is something in their DNA which sees them struggle to bounce back from setbacks.
Next up for Fergie's men are Spurs away and that will answer plenty of the questions left hanging over the team from Saturday's events. But while Rooney is in their team nothing is impossible.
Man Utd: Foster, O'Shea, Brown, Vidic, Evra, Valencia (Park 63), Fletcher, Carrick, Nani, Giggs (Berbatov 85), Rooney. Subsnot used: Kuszczak, Neville, Owen, Anderson, Scholes. Booked: Evra, Brown, Rooney. Goals: Rooney 59 pen, Diaby 64 og.
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Eboue (Bendtner 71), Denilson (Eduardo 79), Song, Diaby, Arshavin (Ramsey 81), van Persie. Subs not used: Mannone, Silvestre, Wilshere, Gibbs. Booked: Song, Gallas, Van Persie, Almunia, Eboue, Sagna. Goals: Arshavin 40.
Att: 75,095
Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).
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