Manchester United defender and midfielder Phillip Neville has claimed that his side's prime reason for a string of great results is all down to skipper Roy Keane's fine form.

Despite watching the game fro the bench, Neville states that Tuesday night's terrific 4-2 victory over current Premiership Champions Arsenal has sent out a strong message to clubs, especially to AC Milan, who the Red Devils face in the Champions League later this month.

Regarding the Arsenal game, Neville said: "I think it did send a bit of a message out,"

"Not just in England but to the rest of Europe that we are not a spent force. We can still produce it on the big occasion and show great temperament."

Neville has also lavished praise on his Old Trafford colleagues, Roy Keane in particular, adding: "A lot has been made about Rio [Ferdinand] coming back and the signing of Gabriel Heinze, and the stability of the back four, but if you look at the early season form, when Roy Keane hit form, the team started playing."

"Look at the big teams in England; when Liverpool play well, Steven Gerrard is usually at the heart of it; the same goes for Arsenal with Patrick Vieira; and Roy Keane has been an influence on us since the early part of the season.

"He's been driving us on and has been fantastic."

"Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have hit top form too and it's been driving us on. We've hit top form in midfield from October onwards, and that's when the run started."