Michael Carrick: Manchester United's front trio are back at their best

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick believes that the front trio of Wayne Rooney, Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie are back on track and will scare opposition defences as the season trundles on.

The 20-time Champions started the season on an insipid note and lacked form in spite of spending more than £150m in the summer. The likes of Angel di Maria, Ander Herrera and Radamel Falcao, started brightly but found the pressure of the Premier League overwhelming, and their form dipped leading to injuries and suspensions.

Falcao, who was out for the most of November with a knee injury is expected to be back against Stoke City, while Van Persie, who was going through a horrid spell is back after scoring against Hull City in their previous game.

United's confidence was back after a 2-1 victory over Arsenal, where they rode their luck at times, with the first goal coming off a mis-kick by Kieran Gibbs, who guided Ashley Young's effort into the back of the net.

The win over Hull City proved that it was not a false dawn for Louis van Gaal's side and that the Red Devils are finally putting it together, which Giggs describes as similar to the attacking threat they posed under Sir Alex Ferguson.

"It happens. Strikers go through a spell and sometimes they just want a scrappy goal and are off and running again," Carrick said.

"But Robin scored a great goal and hopefully that will be the start of a good run over the weeks to come.

"Players get criticised, we all get criticised at certain times and it's something you have to deal with. The best way to answer it is the way he did it against Hull.

"It was a terrific goal. It was half a chance really. It wasn't a clear chance and he rifled it in," he concluded.