FA Cup Fourth round/ Arsenal 2 Wolves 0: Arsene Wenger would not be drawn on whether he had primed a bottle of 1964 vintage Bordeaux for post-match drinks with Alex Ferguson. But from the outset here it was clear that Arsenal minds were on tomorrow's match against Manchester United.

With Wolves presenting little more challenge than a gentle workout, the champions could meander through to the fifth round of the FA Cup, preserving energies for a fixture that will prove to be a defining moment in Arsenal and Manchester United's seasons.

Chelsea have extended their Premiership lead to 10 points and if either side does not win, they may count themselves out of the title race.

The question was put to Wenger as to whether it is already a sideshow, effectively a fight for second place. "At the moment, yes," he said. "But I still feel that the winner of this game has a good chance to win the championship."

Even a draw, then, would be highly damaging. Yet whatever the result, tomorrow will serve a purpose for Wenger, as it is easy to sense that he will be relieved when the match has passed.

The self-doubt that lingered after Arsenal's trip to Old Trafford in October, which ended a 49-match unbeaten run, has only recently been banished.

The presence here of the referee Mike Riley, whose non-interventionist approach to that match was widely criticised, perhaps hardened the focus on tomorrow, and Wenger appears keen to bring to a close his dealings with Ferguson and his team for another season.

"It is true, it took some time to recover from Old Trafford," said Wenger. "But we are over that now. We just want to focus and have new targets and become stronger."

Wenger is bracing himself for another physical encounter with United but bridles at the suggestion that it would be his players who employ roughhouse tactics.

"I am very confident about our discipline because we always focus on playing," he said. "We are the team who have committed fewest fouls in the league. You can look at the statistics.

"Nobody else in the league commits fewer fouls than us and we are the team who are most sinned against, with most yellow cards against. We are not angels, but we are top of the fair-play league.

"If you are worried about us, statistically there is no reason to worry about it. You should worry about the other team for Tuesday night."

That was issued as a warning to look out for the sort of brutal challenge Riley permitted Ruud van Nistelrooy to practise on Ashley Cole last October.

Glenn Hoddle suggested that the choice of Riley for this match was ill conceived, hinting that the official seemed keen to right a wrong.

"He's a Premiership referee and there was familiarity between Riley and the Arsenal players," said Hoddle. "I don't know how they select referees for games but maybe it's something that needs to be looked at."

Certainly a penalty should have been awarded to Wolves after Joleon Lescott was wrestled to the floor by Pascal Cygan when the scores were still level, but Riley's refusal to countenance three similarly strong appeals for Arsenal would suggest it is his competency and not his integrity that should be questioned.

Lescott appeared to trip the exciting Emmanuel Eboue in the box, Paul Ince seemed to handle a Sol Campbell pass, also in the box, and Jose Antonio Reyes was heavily tackled six yards out immediately before Michael Oakes pulled down Thierry Henry to allow Patrick Vieira to score the opening goal from the spot.

Freddie Ljungberg doubled the lead late on, latching on to Henry's through ball to slam home from close range to give Arsenal fans respite from their nerves.

But the relief is brief: synapses will be stretched again tomorrow.

Guardian Service