The new prince of Highbury may have taken a couple of matches to find his feet but Jose Reyes assumed the throne left temporarily vacant by the injured Thierry Henry to guide Arsenal to yet another FA Cup triumph against Chelsea.

Some Gunners fans may have been wondering what all the fuss was about and why Arsene Wenger had invested all his hard-earned transfer cash in one 20-year-old, but Reyes produced the goods with spectacular effect.

His side were trailing to Adrian Mutu's first-half effort, with John Terry and Scott Parker both inspiring a Chelsea side previously knocked out of the competition in each of the past three seasons by the Gunners.

However, Reyes then finally showed why Wenger had waited a year before splashing out a potential record fee that could rise to £17million by the time this richly-talented youngster is finished.

For the entire first half, just as in most of his previous few displays, Reyes had looked out of his depth as he was bullied into submission by Chelsea.

However, a dazzling 25-yard effort was followed just five minutes later by a nonchalant second goal and suddenly even the absence of the real king of Highbury, Henry, was momentarily forgotten.

And so, on an afternoon of memorable quality and passion, Arsenal stubbornly refused to release their grip on the FA Cup.

It had all started so differently though. Chelsea have been cursed by slow starts this season but were galvanised into action by a crunching tackle from new signing Parker at Portsmouth in midweek.

Parker was at it again at Highbury, as he and Patrick Vieira's early exchange of hefty challenges was matched by their team-mates in a fiery opening spell.

The unrelenting pace continued in what was a test of character and strength as much as ability. Who says the FA Cup does not matter to these two clubs?

Referee Paul Durkin nevertheless did his best to keep the frenetic pace going and the only surprise was that he did not award more than six cautions in the first half.

However, although Chelsea were holding their own in midfield, Arsenal's pace and movement still led to a handful of openings.

Gilberto Silva steamed through the centre but was caught by Terry's sliding tackle, while Robert Pires shot at Carlo Cudicini, who also denied Ashley Cole with his legs at point-blank range.

But as Arsenal failed to make the most of their pressure, Chelsea increasingly started to come into their own.

Jens Lehmann foiled William Gallas, while Frank Lampard and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink were both off-target and Jesper Gronkjaer 'scored' only for his header to be ruled out for offside - wrongly so, as it seemed on television replays.

Chelsea were undaunted and when Lehmann's weak kick was intercepted by Parker, who immediately fed the ball to Mutu, the Romanian striker jinked past Kolo Toure and crashed his shot into the corner.

Still the challenges flew in, with Vieira finally being booked, and the Frenchman was still angrily protesting to referee Durkin as the players left the pitch at the interval.

Vieira shook hands with Durkin before the restart but Terry - legitimately - soon crashed into Ray Parlour and the midfielder limped off, to be replaced by Edu.

Arsenal were still looking for inspiration from somewhere but after Pires had shot into the side-netting, it finally came from their 20-year-old Spaniard.

Reyes had been muscled aside up to that point but when he was finally given the time and space in which to be himself, he unleashed a 25-yard shot of exquisite quality into the top corner.

It was a goal of which Henry himself would have been proud and there can be little higher praise than that in these parts.

Reyes was not finished there though. When Cudicini limped off to be replaced by Neil Sullivan, the former Spurs goalkeeper's first involvement was to join his colleague in being beaten by the striker.

This time, the Spaniard was played through by an inspired pass by Vieira, and not even Terry's desperate effort could prevent his shot from crossing the goalline.

On came Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole as Chelsea, who secured a late FA Cup equaliser at Highbury last season, looked to repeat the feat.

Arsenal are nevertheless seasoned campaigners and showed their true class as they held firm in the closing stages, with Reyes receiving a standing ovation as he was replaced by defender Gael Clichy.

And that, for Chelsea, was it. They had given and promised so much but Arsenal had yet again proved their superiority.

If Claudio Ranieri is still to avoid the "failure" of not winning a trophy this season, it must now come in the Premier League or Champions League.

His next stop, however? Arsenal in the league at Stamford Bridge in just six days' time and, by then, even Henry should be back.

Teams

Arsenal: Lehmann, Cole, Campbell, Toure, Lauren, Parlour (Edu 51), Vieira, Silva, Pires, Bergkamp, Reyes (Clichy 82).

Subs Not Used: Cygan, Stack, Bentley.

Booked: Campbell, Silva, Vieira.

Goals: Reyes 56, 61.

Chelsea: Cudicini (Sullivan 60), Melchiot, Terry, Gallas, Bridge, Parker, Makelele, Lampard, Gronkjaer (Cole 69), Hasselbaink, Mutu (Gudjohnsen 64).

Subs Not Used: Crespo, Huth.

Booked: Melchiot, Mutu, Makelele, Hasselbaink.

Goals: Mutu 40.

Att: 38,136

Ref: P Durkin (Dorset).