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Giggs guilty as sin, Arsenal wins 2-0

Arsenal's Brazilian midfielder Edu, second right, celebrates with teammates Sol Campbel, left, Robert Pires, second left, and Francis Jeffers, right, after scoring against Manchester United in their FA Cup fifth round match at Old Trafford, Manchester, yesterday. Arsenal won an odd match 2-0 after an astonishing blunder by Ryan Giggs, who failed to convert an easy chance. PHOTO: REUTERS

Arsenal gained sweet revenge for their famous 1999 FA Cup loss to Manchester United on Saturday, stunning the 10-time cup winners with a 2-0 fifth round win at Old Trafford.

The victory, achieved with a deflected 34th minute free kick by Brazilian midfielder Edu and a low shot from French striker Sylvain Wiltord just after the break, banishes the ghost of Ryan Giggs's wonder-goal in the semifinal four years ago.

This time the 67,000 crowd, as well as television viewers in a reported 110 countries, saw Giggs become the villain of the piece with an astonishing miss.

The Welsh winger, who in 1999 slalomed through virtually the entire Arsenal side to win the game in extra time, somehow fired over the bar with the net completely unguarded after half an hour.

Within minutes, and with the entire United team still looking shellshocked, Arsenal took the lead, and the Gunners began to take control of the tie.

The match began explosively, with a pair of near-mass brawls and three bookings inside the first 10 minutes.

After Sol Campbell's arm caught Ole Gunnar Solksjaer in the penalty box, Paul Scholes and Patrick Vieira squared up, sparking a spate of pushing and shoving between opposing players which led to Scholes being booked.

Then, with barely a ball kicked, Ruud van Nistelrooy sent Martin Keown flying and the teams jostled again. But just two minutes later, Vieira himself went in the referee's book for dissent. Roy Keane and Vieira were asked to calm down their teammates, but to no effect.

Amid the chaos it took a good 10 minutes before either side began playing football to speak of, and neither side could find much fluency, although Solksjaer skimmed the side of David Seaman's left post.

The match turned on Giggs's astonishing miss, surely the worst of his illustrious career.

Through on goal after Keown missed David Beckham's long ball, Giggs did well to dribble past Seaman and then Campbell.

But with the net completely unguarded, the Welshman somehow blasted the ball over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area.

Giggs and his teammates looked disbelieving, and their afternoon was about to get worse.

After Keane caught Vieira on the edge of the box, Edu's free kick struck Beckham's shoulder to spin wickedly past the stranded Fabien Barthez.

Arsenal then began to take a grip of the tie, and the Premiership leaders went 2-0 up just seven minutes after half-time.

Edu, breaking down the right, rolled the ball to Wiltord who skipped over Wes Brown's

challenge on the edge of the box and and fired past Barthez.

Soon afterwards Giggs added to his misery, managed to hopelessly miscue a volley from close range, and was substituted soon afterwards.

Even the usually reliable Solksjaer headed just wide after Keane's lovely chipped cross from right, and United were unable to mount one of their famous late fight backs.

With 10 minutes Wiltord could even have bagged a third Arsenal goal after getting free on the break, but Brown's desperate stretching tackle robbed him as he was about to shoot.
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