Sir Alex Ferguson forecasts a Man Utd deluge ..

Sir Alex Ferguson believes his Manchester United side are close to recovering the scoring form that has eluded them so far this season.

United will move ahead of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League if they beat Wigan Athletic today, but the manager concedes that their position owes much more to the defence, who have not conceded in the last five league games, than to his attack, who have mustered just 10 goals in 12 games.

The recent 2-0 victory over Chelsea is the only occasion United have scored more than once in a game this season. But Wayne Rooney scored his first goal of the season in the Champions League game against Roma this week and both Carlos Tevez and Louis Saha are match fit again, leading Ferguson to believe United will soon add fluency and potency to their stuttering attacking form.

"I think what is happening is unusual for us," Ferguson said. "And I think that every team that comes up against us now will be waiting for a deluge. We know it's going to happen. It will happen, we will score goals, unfortunately it's not come as quick as I would like. We're playing well, creating chances, it will happen.

''It's early season and you have to remember there are valid reasons for the delay [in scoring]. Rooney's injury, Ronaldo's suspension, international breaks have all affected us but all the strikers have scored now."

Yet just as Ferguson is becoming bullish about his forward options, he finds himself facing growing concerns about central midfield. Michael Carrick will be out for six weeks after breaking his elbow and Owen Hargreaves must wait at least another 10 days before returning to training after suffering a recurrence of his tendinitis, leaving the manager pondering who should partner Paul Scholes.

"It was a bad blow to lose Michael Carrick," he added. "To break an elbow is an unusual one. His form has come back and the last few games he has been first class. We have to pick another central midfield player, because Darren Fletcher is also out, and I think Anderson or Ryan Giggs will supply the answer."