WENGER'S HOT SHOTS HAVE FUN IN THE SUN
Arsenal 3 Man Utd 0

FUNNY, but wasn't this exactly where we finished it all last May?
Arsenal
sauntering off the Wembley pitch drenched in sunshine and sporting
another
easily-won trophy, was a scene happily familiar to the Gooner Army from
the
FA Cup final win over Newcastle.

The taming of Manchester United on an even hotter afternoon yesterday
was a
satisfying repeat.

And what surely made it even more enjoyable for the victorious Gunners,
was
the fact that United, unlike Newcastle, very definitely wanted to make a
game of it, even if they are headed for the Champions' League on
Wednesday.

For Arsenal it was another canter at the Twin Towers, and they will now
hope
their European clashes - which are being staged at Wembley - will also
prove
as easy.

United skipper Roy Keane even turned up with a new skinhead haircut and
promptly launched into a very interesting contest with Patrick Vieira
early
on.

But by the end, his Old Trafford team-mates and poor old boss Alex
Ferguson
were tearing their hair out too as Arsenal drowned them in an impressive
tide of style, simplicity and laser-sharp finishing.

A first-half goal by dangerous Dutch winger Marc Overmars was the body
punch
to United's ribs that sucked out all the breath after they dominated the
opening skirmishes.

Then, a soul-destroying strike apiece from youngsters Christopher Wreh
and
Nicolas Anelka sent them crashing to the deck after the break.

It was all done with the same sharpness of mind, fleetness of feet and
strength of body which carried Arsene Wenger's team to Double glory last
season.

In fact, for all the fears about World Cup hangovers, Overmars and the
French pair Vieira and Emmanuel Petit could have enjoyed a glass of
champagne or two at half-time and it would have done no harm at all.

United looked like they had the same taste early on, but things turned
more
sour as every minute ticked by following Overmars' decisive opener. They
were left only with injured pride and more questions about their
£10.75million Dutch defender Jaap Stam.

Fair enough, just about anyone would have been wrong-footed by the deft
back-flick performed by Dennis Bergkamp which led to Arsenal's first
goal.

But he was clearly sucked out of position when Overmars surged forward
and
left Wreh free and unmarked to score the second.

And, finally, he was outpaced and then by-passed by the quick feet of
Anelka
when he fired in the third. The slab-thighed Stam looked the part at
most
other times - like when he executed a superb sliding tackle to halt
Overmars
in his tracks in the 21st minute.

That was during the spell when United defied the 100-degree heat at
pitch
level and buzzed around like wasps fired up by the sunshine and eager to
sting.

Gary Neville was booked after only two minutes for walloping into
Overmars.
Then Keane got into a couple of tangles with the long-legged Vieira to
underline that United meant business.

All the while, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and David Beckham
looked
to prise openings.

It was Butt who tested David Seaman with a low shot in the 10th minute.
However, the Gunners defence, which may now be approaching the combined
age
that could soon make it a listed monument, showed they are still a
formidable barrier.

And slowly, but surely, Arsenal tuned once again into the rhythm that
allowed them to waltz ahead of everyone last term. The first sign of a
shift
in the balance of power came in the 19th minute when Seaman's long
clearance
sent Anelka scurrying towards goal and Stam had to keep pace all the way
until Peter Schmeichel could tidy up.

Then Keane had to make a timely intervention after a thoughtful pass
from
Petit sent Overmars on another troublesome dart along the left.

Bergkamp's low 20-yard shot in the 31st minute was the final course of
the
starters - then he trickily set up the first goal four minutes later.

Vieira found Bergkamp, who was lurking just on the left of the 18-yard
box,
and the Dutch striker's back-flick to Anelka bamboozled his World Cup
team-mate Stam.

Anelka took the loose ball and even if it looked suspiciously like a
tug of
the shirt he managed to beat the tumbling Ronny Johnsen and Overmars
finished off the opening in emphatic fashion from 10 yards out.

A clever one-two between Bergkamp and Anelka almost produced an instant
second goal, but Schmeichel did well to hold the French teenager's
shot. It
always seemed likely the heat would drain the game of life in the second
half. Yet Arsenal seemed to revel in it.

Substitute striker Wreh fired a shot on the run just wide in the 54th
minute. Then one minute later it was the energy of Overmars, surging
once
more down the left, which carved a second goal for the Gunners.

Gary Neville tumbled as he raced across to challenge while Stam
carelessly
moved wide too. That left Wreh eagerly awaiting Overmars' simple touch
to
the right and the young Gunner drove home at the second attempt after
Schmeichel had gamely stopped his first effort.

United looked totally sapped. And in the 65th minute, Neville got so
fed up
with his tormentor Overmars, that he tried to crack him one in the face.

Arsenal boss Wenger stepped in to end Neville's torture by taking the
flying Dutchman off immediately afterwards.

A minute earlier, Beckham had flared briefly into life when he directed
a 25-yard free-kick just above the bar. If it had gone in, it would have
gloriously echoed his World Cup strike against Colombia. But it was the
kind of day when luck was not on United's side.

Instead, Arsenal delivered the final slap in the face in the 70th
minute. Ray Parlour's incisive ball from the middle sent Anelka charging away
side by side with Stam.

The Arsenal man got himself in front and then drove in a sharp,
left-foot shot he should never really have been allowed to attempt.

That came amid a flurry of substitutions which drew any remaining sting
from the game. But there was one final, bitter moment to come for United.

Substitute Teddy Sheringham stubbed a 15-yard shot crudely wide, after being
sent clear by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and that provoked howls of derision from
the Arsenal end.