Soccer FA Cup: Arsenal - 1 Sheff Utd - 0 David Seaman defied time and Sheffield United. At 39 his reactions should be dull and his joints creaky, yet it was a quicksilver response and almost unfeasible elasticity that preserved Arsenal's lead when only six minutes of this semi-final remained.
By his own account the save from Paul Peschisolido was all instinct, but whether he knew it or not he was making an eloquent case for his pre-eminence among English goalkeepers.
That status may not be permitted to last for long. Despite calling him "a great example" Arsene Wenger was hard-hearted in his frankness about Seaman. "I have not yet made up my mind whether he will stay with us as first-choice goalkeeper," he said, "but he will certainly be our goalkeeping coach." Arsenal have been linked with a move for Leeds United's Paul Robinson in the summer.
All the same, Seaman, on his 1000th appearance in senior football, provided his own monument to his memorable career. For years and decades to come, his feat will be recalled whenever there is chatter about goalkeepers. It did not bear much of a resemblance to Gordon Banks' foiling of Pele, but there is a kinship in the disbelief of both the spectators and a persecuted forward.
No matter how often the replays are shown, the substitute Peschisolido will never really know how he was prevented from being the hero. After all, he had done everything he could. When Robert Page knocked the ball down and Carl Asaba hooked it across he won the header and angled it away from the goalkeeper.
Instinct alone had Seaman snapping out his right arm, but once he had touched the ball there was dexterity as he juggled for a split-second to make sure it did not cross the line. "I thought it was in, to be honest," he said. "I just flung my arm and tried to get something on it."
For much of the afternoon, Wenger might almost have been concerned about Seaman. Following a hamstring injury, this was his first appearance since March 11th and the manager could have wished for greater proof of his readiness for Wednesday's match with Manchester United in the Premiership. There had, however, been too few efforts to constitute a full fitness test.
That is not to disparage Neil Warnock's team, who would have merited extra-time for their boldness alone, but it was a game of limited goalmouth incident.
Warnock employed three forwards to pin back the full-backs Lauren and Ashley Cole who usually supply much of the width, but Arsenal had no great inclination to go romping around the field. The single goal, after 34 minutes, contented them until, in those closing stages, they wondered if the margin of superiority was too slim.
United were enraged by the mere existence of the opener. Sol Campbell went unpunished for a foul on Wayne Allison and the move would still have broken down had the referee Graham Poll not run into Michael Tonge in midfield.
Arsenal profited from the accident and were not in the least solicitous about Allison. They kept on playing and did so artfully.
Freddie Ljungberg lifted a ball to Francis Jeffers. Sylvain Wiltord clipped the cross against the far post, raced to recover possession and delivered a cut-back that broke from the backside of Page to give Ljungberg a simple finish.
Warnock's men only began to seem incisive in the closing ten minutes. Nick Montgomery headed against Ashley Cole after a piercing run and cross from Michael Brown.
Arsenal, though, are not wholly unscathed. The authoritative Patrick Vieira has a knee injury and Wenger now waits to see whether his captain can recover to face Manchester United.
ARSENAL: Seaman, Lauren, Keown, Campbell, Cole, Ljungberg, Edu, Vieira (Silva 56), Parlour, Jeffers (Henry 66), Wiltord (Bergkamp 81). Subs Not Used: Taylor, Luzhny. Booked: Cole. Goals: Ljungberg 34.
SHEFF UTD: Kenny, Jagielka, Page, Curtis, Kozluk, Ndlovu, Brown, McCall (Asaba 60), Tonge, Allison (Montgomery 60), Kabba (Peschisolido 79). Subs Not Used: Murphy, Kelly. Booked: McCall, Brown, Asaba.
Referee: G Poll.
