Having put themselves on course for one treble at Villa Park in 1999, Manchester United breathed life back into their fading season by bringing Arsenal's bid for another clean sweep to a premature end.

And while Arsene Wenger's major selection gamble on Thierry Henry backfired, Sir Alex Ferguson even achieved the feat without the services of his own chief marksman, the injured Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Rarely can the FA Cup have mattered so much to United, but this was no ordinary semi-final tie.

This was, after all, their one remaining chance to salvage their entire season and this victory was achieved not just by Paul Scholes 32nd-minute strike but by the sheer force of United's will not to finish the campaign empty-handed.

The Premiership title has gone, presumably to Arsenal. United's Champions League campaign is over, with Arsenal still to the fore in that competition.

But the FA Cup? Well, that is surely now on its way to Old Trafford with Sunderland or Millwall waiting in the final after their 11th consecutive FA Cup semi-final victory.

There was one unsavoury incident at Villa Park, when what looked like a coin was thrown from the crowd and hit Arsenal physio Gary Lewin on the head as he stood next to Wenger.

However, Arsenal were, above all, left to curse their log-jammed fixture list, which had beguiled Wenger into leaving Henry out of his starting line-up.

Having revealed his poker hand an hour before kick-off, it later transpired he had been bluffing.

For not only was Henry on the bench, but so too was Jose Reyes, who sparkled as a late substitute, but only when the game was already in United's control.

Instead, Jeremie Aliadiere made his first start since January 10 and to say his touch was rusty and his movement was ponderous was putting it mildly.

The match had began with a ceremonial handshake between Ferguson and Wenger. In fact, it was the handshake they never exchanged after the 1999 replay amid the Frenchman's frustration in defeat.

And as this match burst into life within the first few seconds, it was almost as if that titanic tussle had never ended.

For Dennis Bergkamp, with so much to prove after his last-minute penalty had been saved back then by Peter Schmeichel, was sent bursting through the centre.

This time, he was denied by the excellent Roy Carroll, while the Dutchman's follow-up effort was also headed off the line by Wes Brown.

The ensuing corner was cleared only as far as Edu, whose inspired lob struck the bar, and although Kolo Toure headed the ball goalwards, Carroll had expertly recovered his ground to claw it around the post.

United nevertheless surged back as Arsenal were penned back their own inability to counter-attack, with Henry's absence only serving to prove just how influential he truly is with his movement, work-rate and directness.

Sol Campbell took it upon himself to embark on a barnstorming run which led to Robert Pires heading weakly over the top when unmarked.

However, it was a rare sortie and when Gary Neville put aside his simmering feud with Pires, he produced an exquisite through-ball to send Ryan Giggs haring into the penalty area.

Giggs sent an inviting cross across the box and Scholes arrived on cue to hammer the ball past Jens Lehmann.

Advantage United. Arsenal were rattled and going down rather too easily in search of free-kicks, even if Roy Keane headed the ball against the outside of his own post under pressure from Vieira.

There was still no Henry at the start of the second half and Bergkamp's ambitious attempt to win a penalty was the closest they came to an equaliser before Wenger finally brought on the Frenchman.

Indeed, not only Henry but also Reyes came on with 33 minutes left in place of Aliadiere and Pires.

It was too little, too late though, even with Kanu joining them in a four-strong strikeforce in the latter stages.

Reyes, who made more of an impact in his first 10 minutes than Aliadiere managed in the preceding hour, twice came close, while Mikael Silvestre escaped with an apparent handball.

However, United, who brought on Phil Neville to stiffen their resolve, were not about to pushed aside once again.

When Henry blazed an effort over the crossbar in the final minute it was not only his first real chance of the game, it was also Arsenal's last.

The Gunners may remain the Premiership's leading side but they are not invincible. Now they must just ensure that losing does not become a habit when Chelsea come visiting next week.

The treble, after all, is now over and United retain the copyright.

Teams

Arsenal Lehmann, Lauren, Campbell, Toure, Clichy, Ljungberg, Vieira, Edu (Kanu 76), Pires (Henry 57), Bergkamp, Aliadiere (Reyes 57).

Subs Not Used: Keown, Stack.

Booked: Pires, Lehmann, Toure, Lauren.

Man Utd Carroll, Gary Neville, Brown, Silvestre, O'Shea, Ronaldo (Bellion 84), Fletcher, Keane, Scholes, Giggs, Solskjaer (Phil Neville 75).

Subs Not Used: Butt, Howard, Djemba-Djemba.

Booked: Scholes.

Goals: Scholes 32.

Att: 39,939

Ref: G Barber (Hertfordshire).