There had been speculation that as punishment for their poor form, Alex Ferguson would include some of the protagonists who started Sunday's surrender at Liverpool, but as it turned out he sent out a collection of fringe players and aspiring youngsters at Highbury last night.
However, three goals from Sylvain Wiltord earned Arsenal a fourth-round tie against Grimsby. Wenger had always said he would field a decent side and as well as Ray Parlour, Nwankwo Kanu and Oleg Luzhny, the Arsenal manager included four players who had taken part in the embarrassing 4-2 defeat at home to Charlton the day before. This gave Arsenal the edge in experience and it paid dividends.
On 15 minutes Kanu beat the offside trap with an astute through ball, and Wiltord shrugged off the challenge of Ronnie Wallwork to tuck the ball past Roy Carroll.
On the half-hour it was Arsenal who again proved more canny in front of goal. Wiltord found Kanu in the area and as Carroll slid in with a challenge the tall Nigerian went down under the slightest of touches. Wiltord converted the penalty for 2-0.
Seconds before the interval Wiltord added number three, juggling Parlour's through ball on his head, letting it drop and coolly volleying past the onrushing Carroll.
Arsenal were simply looking much more of a unit than United and just five minutes into the second half Wiltord was put though on goal by an astute pass from the lively Edu. This time however, Raimond van der Gouw, on as a half-time substitute, deflected the shot for a corner.
The ease with which Arsenal were able to slice through United's rookie defence brought them another goal after 65 minutes. Once again Parlour was the provider and Wiltord the catalyst, the striker fastening on to the long pass before being brought down by Wallwork. This time Kanu converted the penalty.
Four minutes later Arsenal were reduced to 10 men when half-time substitute John Halls, picked up a second yellow card for a foul on Djordjic. But Arsenal could afford the luxury.
ARSENAL: Wright; Grimandi (Inamoto 86), Stepanovs, Tavlaridis, Luzhny, Parlour, van Bronckhorst (Halls 50), Edu, Pennant (Ricketts 72), Wiltord, Kanu. Subs Not Used: Lauren, Taylor. Sent Off: Halls (72). Booked: Edu, Parlour, Luzhny, Halls. Goals: Wiltord 15, 31 pen, 45, Kanu 66 pen.
MAN UTD: Carroll (Van Der Gouw 47); Wallwork (Clegg 80), P Neville, Roche, O'Shea, Stewart, Chadwick, Djordjic (Nardiello 71), Yorke, Davis, Webber. Subs Not Used: Tierney, Tate. Booked: Wallwork.
Referee: M Riley (Leeds).
