A Matt Jansen hat-trick helped Blackburn Rovers to an emphatic 4-0 home win over a below-strength Arsenal side tonight and into the semi-finals of the Worthington Cup.
To complete a bad night for Arsenal their north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur won 6-0, at home to Bolton Wanderers, with Les Ferdinand hitting three in nine first-half minutes.
Despite the UEFA Cup place available for the competition's winners, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger again played an almost entirely reserve team, making nine changes from the side which fought back to beat Aston Villa 3-2 in the league on Sunday.
Blackburn took immediate advantage as Jansen struck twice in the first 15 minutes.
The first was a nice individual effort as he turned inside Matthew Upson before curling the ball beyond Stuart Taylor while the second was a tap-in to deflect a Tugay Kerimoglu shot.
Mark Hughes then scored his first goal in 30 games, again cashing in on poor Arsenal defending, to make it 3-0 after 21 minutes and Damien Duff hit a post minutes later.
Jansen completed his hat-trick in the 68th minute, tucking the ball into the corner to finish a sweeping passing move.
It was similarly one-sided match at White Hart Lane as Spurs, the 1999 winners, raced into a 4-0 first half lead thanks to Ferdinand's trusty forehead.
Simon Davies put them ahead after 21 minutes then the former England international striker hit the target in the 29th, 30th and 38th minutes - all headers.
An Anthony Barness own goal made it 5-0 in the 79th minute and Steffen Iversen tapped in the sixth six minutes from time after Darren Anderton had three successive shots blocked.