Chelsea were forced to cling onto the FA Cup final to save their season as Arsenal striker Thierry Henry must have left boss Gianluca Vialli wishing it was him - and not Chris Sutton - on whom the Blues boss splashed out £10million last summer.

For there may have been seven other Frenchmen in the two squads at Highbury - four of them established internationals - yet Henry was simply a class apart from the rest.

He embarrassed Frank Leboeuf for his first strike on 21 minutes, left Marcel Desailly red-faced for his second just three minutes after the break and thereby took his tally for the season to 25, with 10 of them in his last nine games.

Nicolas Anelka is now thankfully just a distant memory, yet while Henry probably cost less than the reported fee of £10million, the comparisons with Sutton - who was left on the bench at Highbury even though his side were struggling - are hardly even worth making.

And so, as Henry shone amid the bright sunshine in North London, Arsenal, barring something of a mathematical miracle, guaranteed their place in next season's Champions League, while ensuring that Chelsea cannot reach Europe through the Premiership.

The FA Cup final was meant to have been the celebration of a successful season for the Blues but it now represents their one remaining opportunity in which to save their season from relative failure.

Jut as worryingly, they may have raised themselves to beat Liverpool last weekend following a verbal blast from Vialli after their defeat at Old Trafford.

Yet it was only in the final quarter at Highbury, when they were already 2-0 down, that the Blues showed any real commitment, endeavour or finishing power as substitute Gustavo Poyet scored a consolation effort with 11 minutes left.

Inconsistency continues to dog Vialli's side and while Chelsea and Arsenal have both had mixed fortunes this season at both home and abroad, it is not hard to see which side are clearly on the up now.

However, the reasons go much further beyond the chasmic difference between Henry and Sutton, or the defensive frailties of Leboeuf.

In Chelsea's defence, only Marcel Desailly was anywhere near his top form in the first-half and he seemed increasingly annoyed by the failings of those around him - Leboeuf, Bernard Lambourde and Mario Melchiot - as passes went astray and errors were made.

Both sides had half-chances in the opening exchanges, with Gilles Grimandi first heading narrowly over and then managing to block George Weah's goalbound shot from close range with his thigh.

De Goey saved Henry's near-post header and then tipped over a drive by Ray Parlour, and, even though Leboeuf himself headed just over from a corner, the writing was on the ball when the Frenchman made the first of two glaring errors.

He was spared the first time around by de Goey as, after Leboeuf had been all too easily dispossessed by Emmanuel Petit, striker Dennis Bergkamp put Henry clean through and the Frenchman was denied by the Chelsea keeper.

Just two minutes later, however, Leboeuf attempted - and failed - to chest down Patrick Vieira's through-ball and Henry was again bearing down on goal.

This time, he made no mistake as he swept around de Goey, allowed Leboeuf to dive in with a last-ditch attempted tackle next to the post, neatly stepped inside him and tapped his shot home.

Arsenal increasingly assumed control of the game and Leboeuf, perhaps unsurprisingly some critics might say, hobbled off before the break to be replaced by Emerson Thome.

With captain Dennis Wise attempting in vain to inspire his side, Chelsea did manage to pose more of an attacking threat before the interval, with Zola firing two long-range efforts just wide.

And then, when David Seaman could only parry Wise's low shot, Lee Dixon swooped to clear from two yards out just as di Matteo was threatening to pounce.

However, even though Arsenal were forced to replace Marc Overmars with Nigel Winterburn at the interval, it made no difference as Henry duly put the home side 2-0 up within three minutes of the restart.

This time it was Desailly whom he went past with far too much ease after Bergkamp had played him through as his pace and strength took him around his compatriot before firing a left-footed shot past de Goey from a tight angle.

It was a superb finish and although Henry somehow managed to injure himself during his celebrations, he was soon back in the fray.

And the arrival of Kanu - a hat-trick hero when the Gunners came back from 2-0 down with 16 minutes to clinch victory at Stamford Bridge last October - only adding to Chelsea's problems as he twice threatened de Goey with cross-shots.

Chelsea did muster something of a minor rally in the final stages as Flo struck the top of the bar and then Poyet scored with 11 minutes left after Grimandi had failed to clear a cross by the Norwegian.

However, just like much of Chelsea's season, it was too little, too late - and while Arsenal go from strength to strength, only the FA Cup final can save the Blues now.

The French connection, it seems, is working only at Highbury.

Teams:

Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Grimandi, Silvinho, Parlour, Vieira, Petit (Luzhny 77), Overmars (Winterburn 46), Bergkamp (Kanu 68), Henry.

Subs Not Used: Manninger, Malz.

Booked: Henry.

Goals: Henry 21, 48.

Chelsea: de Goey, Lambourde, Leboeuf (Thome 40), Desailly, Melchiot, Di Matteo, Wise, Morris (Deschamps 60), Zola (Poyet 60), Weah, Flo.

Subs Not Used: Sutton, Cudicini.

Booked: Thome, Poyet.

Goals: Poyet 79.

Att: 38,119

Ref: M Reed (Birmingham).