In the end the old master had too much nous and too much firepower for his former pupil.

It was comfortable enough for Arsenal but it was not exactly the smooth, fluent, confidence-boosting FA Cup triumph Arsene Wenger had called for before the vital Barclays Premiership game against Manchester United on Tuesday night.

The Gunners swept aside Glenn Hoddle's side and progressed to the fifth-round courtesy of a second-half Patrick Vieira penalty and a late Freddie Ljungberg strike.

And while Arsenal were by a distance the superior team, worryingly they also squandered chance after chance as they to continued to try to walk the ball into the net.

Such cultured football and the search for that perfect goal has been their greatest strength under Wenger and also their biggest failing.

And this was an afternoon when Thierry Henry, Jose Antonio Reyes and Ljungberg were all guilty of missing wonderful chances.

But let's not forget the tenacity of a Wolves side which has shown signs of re-invention under Hoddle and which bore the combative hallmark of Paul Ince. They showed enough here to suggest a play-off place in the Coca-Cola Championship is not beyond them.

The Wolves manager won the French league title as a player under Wenger at Monaco but he faced an Arsenal supremo with vastly superior forces today.

There were six changes to the Arsenal side from that which beat Newcastle last weekend but no-one could accuse Wenger of disrespecting the competition.

Kolo Toure's absence was enforced due to suspension and a strikeforce comprising Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie would be the envy of almost every club in Britain.

"I know there are benefits of resting players," said Wenger, who did leave out Ashley Cole, Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires but brought back Jens Lehmann in place of Manuel Almunia in goal. "But I also believe that the best way to prepare for a forthcoming game is to win the previous one."

As preparation for Tuesday night the first half in particular was not what Wenger had ordered.

Too often the industry of Wolves was enough to negate the Gunners' superior talent.

The tone was set as early as the first minute when a crunching tackle by Ince, the 37-year-old former England midfielder, on Vieira rolled back the years momentarily. We wondered then whether an in-form Wolves side, which had won its last three matches, might pose a serious threat.

And certainly they prevented Arsenal from gaining any rhythm or tempo in a first half full of stacatto football. True, only the width of the crossbar kept Arsenal from taking the lead in the 28th minute.

It was Emmanuel Eboue, Arsenal's Ivory Coast youngster, who caused the problem, surging into the penalty area amid a flurry of stepovers.

Just as he pulled the trigger, however, Ince launched himself with a magnificent last-ditch tackle which deflected Eboue's shot onto the bar.

It was typical of Ince's alertness in those first 45 minutes during which he picked up an inevitable booking for another crunching tackle on Vieira.

Arsenal might have had a penalty when Eboue was brought down by Wolves defender Joleon Lescott but referee Mike Riley waved away the appeals.

They might have gone ahead through a cheeky piece of Henry opportunism in the 41st minute.

Wolves goalkeeper Michael Oakes threw the ball up in the air for what appeared to be a routine volleyed clearance.

Henry, however, nipped in to rake the ball away in the air before running the ball into the Wolves net.

It might have been given in the days of Nat Lofthouse, but not in the modern era when goalkeepers are overly protected and Riley ruled it out for 'foot up,' waving away Henry's protests.

Wolves held on until half-time but the Arsenal breakthrough finally came in the 53rd minute.

Jose Antonio Reyes surged into the visitors' penalty area only for the ball to squirm clear and as Henry attempted to pounce on it he was adjudged to have been brought down by goalkeeper Oakes. The contact appeared to be minimal but Vieira stepped up to blast the spot-kick into the net.

That was the cue for all-out Arsenal attack and only two fabulous saves from Oakes denied a van Persie volley and a close-range effort from Ljungberg.

Henry should have put the matter beyond doubt soon after when he raced away from the Wolves defence only for Oakes to bring off another superb save, this time with his legs.

It was inevitable that Wolves would fold eventually as the one-way traffic continued and in the 81st minute Ljungberg gave them the clincher.

Good work from Robert Pires on the left threaded the ball to Henry in the penalty area and his twist fed the pass through for Ljungberg who smashed the ball into the roof of the Wolves net from six yards.

It gave the scoreline a measure of respectability.

But Wenger knows as well as anyone - Arsenal will have to be much more ruthless on Tuesday night when Sir Alex Ferguson comes to town.

Teams

Arsenal Lehmann, Eboue, Campbell, Cygan, Clichy, Ljungberg (Owusu-Abeyie 84), Vieira, Flamini, Reyes (Pires 70), Van Persie (Fabregas 76), Henry.

Subs Not Used: Almunia, Hoyte.

Goals: Vieira 53 pen, Ljungberg 82.

Wolverhampton Oakes, Lescott, Craddock, Bjorklund (Miller 61), Newton, Olofinjana (Clarke 76), Ince (Cameron 86), Kennedy, Naylor, Seol, Cort.

Subs Not Used: Cooper, Andrews.

Booked: Ince, Seol.

Att: 37,153

Ref: M Riley (W Yorkshire).