In the end this historic FA Cup rematch could not have been won more fairly and squarely.

This time a goal of utter perfection from Marc Overmars and one of sheer brilliance from Dennis Bergkamp sent Arsenal surging through to the quarter-finals on a night when the simmering animosity left over from the first match threatened to engulf Highbury.

A late goal from Lee Morris gave the Gunners a few fraught minutes and the scoreline an ironic symmetry to the infamous first encounter 10 days ago.

But this match was all about putting the record straight.

Overmars - the player who combined with Nwankwo Kanu to score the "unsporting" winner in the first game when Sheffield United expected the ball to be returned to them following an injury - was booed and jeered whenever he went near the ball.

United's travelling army, despite tickets having been cut to half-price, clearly still felt angry that they had been cheated out of a replay back at Bramall Lane.

But they could have no complaints this time - even though the Gunners were strengthened by the return of Tony Adams and Nicolas Anelka from the side who played first time round.

In an unprecedented move FIFA had insisted on managers Arsene Wenger and Steve Bruce signing a declaration before the kick-off that both sides would accept tonight's result.

As it turned out the cup holders clung on to their dream of emulating last season's Double success with some comfort - and went some way to rectifying the damage they had done in tarnishing domestic soccer's most prestigious competition.

Indeed, sponsors AXA presented Wenger with a 'Spirit of the FA Cup' award before the kick-off for his swift gesture in offering the rematch.

Poor Sheffield, however, could have done without the aggravation of losing influential midfielder Graham Stuart in the first minute after a robust challenge from Ray Parlour. Bobby Ford came on as substitute, but United were soon under severe pressure.

It was almost inevitable that it should be Overmars who opened the scoring after just 14 minutes - and just moments after the United fans had been taunting the Highbury faithful with chants of "You only sing when you're cheating".

Dennis Bergkamp fed Stephen Hughes just inside the Arsenal half, and the ball was filtered expertly to Overmars in oceans of space down the left.

The pacy Dutch winger sprinted forward unchallenged, leaving full-back Shaun Derry trailing in his wake, before dispatching a left-foot drive firmly past United goalkeeper Alan Kelly.

There was no controversy this time, no dispute from a United defence caught flat by the sharpness of a Gunners side playing incisive football.

Even so you suspect the Sheffield contingent would have disagreed with the Highbury announcer who described Overmars as "everybody's favourite winger".

To make matters worse for United, their Brazilian Marcelo might have given them hope moments earlier but he squandered Derry's superb cross, spooning his shot way over the bar in most un-South American fashion.

Bruce's men showed commendable courage and commitment, fighting for every ball, but the class between the teams was only too apparent.

Patrick Vieira could easily have increased the lead, his probing run bringing a smothered save from Kelly - and the United goalkeeper also pushed away an intelligently-flighted free-kick from Bergkamp.

But Arsenal's superiority was epitomised by the sheer quality of Bergkamp's strike after 36 minutes. The irrepressible Parlour surged down the right, taking the ball to the by-line before screwing it back acutely into the path of the Dutch striker.

Many forwards would have flailed wildly at the spinning ball, depositing it into Row Z of the Clock End. That is not Bergkamp, though. He merely chipped the ball, with the deftness of a Tiger Woods sand wedge, over the sprawling Kelly for a goal which would have graced any class of football.

The Gunners are not renowned for letting two-goal leads slip, but valiant United surged forward in the hope of at least warming their faithful support on a bitterly cold night.

Lee Morris should have done better when he scooped his left-foot shot over the bar, and in the 57th minute the wasteful Marcelo finally got a shot on target only to see it expertly smothered by David Seaman.

But in this mood you can't keep the Gunners quiet for long, and Parlour brought another fine save from Kelly with a blistering shot from 20 yards.

Then came the biggest jeer of the night in the 70th minute when Wenger took off Anelka and brought on Kanu - the Nigerian striker at the centre of the storm 10 days ago.

The substitution was swiftly followed by the biggest cheer from the United fans two minutes later when Overmars was replaced by Remi Garde.

That looked like being the last of the meaningful action - until Morris popped up to give the drama a final twist. Marcelo's close-range shot was beaten away by Seaman, and Morris was on hand to crash home the rebound from a couple of yards.

It meant a couple of anxious minutes for the Arsenal defence, but in truth their victory was clinical. There were four bookings - Adams for Arsenal and Paul Devlin, Derry and Lee Sandford for United.

But it was never a dirty game; indeed it was one played in the finest spirit. In the end, though, United were left to make their weary way back up the M1 to south Yorkshire pondering over what might have been.

A full-strength Arsenal, meanwhile, are not a side who need to cheat. Rather they look like a team who once again could go all the way.

Arsenal: Seaman, Vivas, Bould, Adams, Winterburn, Parlour, Vieira, Hughes, Overmars (Garde 74), Bergkamp (Diawara 79),Anelka (Kanu 70).

Subs Not Used: Manninger, Grimandi.

Booked: Adams.

Goals: Overmars 15, Bergkamp 37.

Sheff Utd: Kelly, Derry, Holdsworth, Sandford, Quinn, Devlin (Twiss 66), Stuart (Ford 5), Woodhouse, Hamilton, Morris,Marcelo.

Subs Not Used: Tracey, Henry, Jacobsen.

Booked: Devlin, Derry, Sandford.

Goals: Morris 86.

Att: 37,161

Ref: P Jones (Loughborough).