A full house of 15,300 watched the class of the North Londoners shine through on a cold and windy afternoon. Although United defended for their lives, especially in the second half, it was the Gunners who claimed the only goal through Sylvain Wiltord after 23 minutes. There was little doubt that Carlisle custodian Matty Glennon was man of the match.

With Mick Galloway's move collapsing yesterday evening, Steve Soley came into midfield and Ian Atkins went for a three-man central defence with veteran Julian Darby in the middle of it. Arsenal's injury crisis deprived them of the services of David Seaman, Tony Adams, Thierry Henry, Kanu and Lauren. However they still fielded a side that was likely to be a class or two above United's.

In the opening five minutes Arsene Wenger's team seemed keen to keep the ball forever. With Ray Parlour dropping deep to act as playmaker and Pires making himself available, the visitors looked comfortable on the ball and happy to push Carlisle back. A long range effort from Parlour brought a smart save out of Matty Glennon but United began to threaten as Scott Dobie and Ian Stevens began to get at the Gunners' rearguard.

Stevens wasted two good chances. He collected the ball after a pass over the top but failed to control when a chance was begging, then Dobie gave him an even better opening with a ball in from the left wing but he placed his shot wide as Alex Manninger came charging off his line. Arsenal had not threatened much but on 23 minutes they went ahead. Patrick Vieira skipped through the centre of midfield to feed the livewire Wiltord who fired a low shot into the right corner of the goal past Glennon.

Arsenal's class was becoming more evident but United were 100% committed and an incident on the half-hour brought the game to the boil. Prokas went in late on Vieira and caught him, with the referee seemingly unsighted. As tempers flared, several players squared up to each other and Nelson Vivas was booked. Dennis Bergkamp had been a bit quiet but he showed his skills with a sharp turn and shot that again warmed Glennon's fingers. He also showed his other side when he made a late challenge in front of the referee and went into his notebook.

Half-time brought tumultous cheers from the capacity crowd as United hero Jimmy Glass returned to Brunton Park to carry out the Golden Gamble half-time draw. It was a moving ovation and may have inspired the United players in the second half.

The commitment was never less than total but Arsenal still held sway. They could have gone further ahead early in the half when Pires led a swift break down the left, fed the fast-breaking Fredrik Ljungberg who shot at pace but Glennon blocked. Two more blocks followed as Tony Hemmings denied Wiltord another goal. Shortly after this incident Bergkamp almost went straight through but he too was denied by more desperate defending after trying to go round Glennon.

Ian Atkins realised that another man was needed up front and he replaced Darby with Carl Heggs. Immediately Carlisle looked more likely to cause problems. Heggs provided a much-needed extra outlet and his runs down the left made Arsenal think a bit. As Carlisle poured forward, Hemmings chased a ball that was prodded forward but Manninger hastily cleared as the full-back charged him down. Heggs blotted his copy book with a poor late challenge. Later a Connelly cross was deflected for a very rare United corner kick.

Although the pressure brought some hope, it never looked likely that the Cumbrians would actually get back on terms. Wenger brought on his subs and decided to hold what he had. Parlour's long-range shooting eventually improved and a late effort brought another good low grab from the excellent Glennon.

Al's Verdict : Well it was a fair bet that Arsenal would be the better side and they certainly were but our will never melted and in Prokas and Glennon we had two outstanding fighters. Glennon's saves kept the scoreline respectable and Prokas brought United to life with his crunching tackles. He sailed close to the edge but succeeded in unsettling Arsenal and giving Carlisle hope. Otherwise, it was all hands to the pump as Arsenal came at us in numbers. The class gap was evident but we can hold our heads high.

Fan's Verdict : The game itself wasn't the most exciting I've seen at BP. We had occasional glimpses of what a Premiership football team can do, their movement off the ball showed the gulf in class at times. Arsenal tried to make the ball do the work but were thwarted by the dogged determination and hard work of the blues. I was proud of our team.
Barbara Abbott, Appleby