Fifty years ago to the day Carlisle United recorded one of the best results in their history - a goalless cup draw at Highbury.

Half a century later they perhaps deserved at least to emulate that scoreline this afternoon after a frantic, simmering, at times downright bad-mannered cup tie at Brunton Park.

That says much about the fragility of this Arsenal side which has struggled to win away all season.

The Gunners lie 90 places above Carlisle, the worst side in the Football League, but they had to thank the guile and the precision of Sylvain Wiltord whose 22nd minute strike was all that separated the teams at the final whistle.

In the end, however, the match will not be remembered for Wiltord's strike but for the first-half bust-up which saw Carlisle's Richard Prokas launch a two-footed assault on Patrick Vieira.

It brought an irate Arsenal manager down to the touchline to remonstrate with the assistant referee as players squared up against each other in an explosive flashpoint.

The mystery was that the only man who seemed to miss the incident was experienced referee Stephen Lodge, who didn't even give a freekick though he booked Arsenal's Argentinian defender Nelson Vivas for his protests.

It was always going to be a match to curdle the blood as the Cumbrians utilised a band of steel to combat Arsenal's superior style.

There was such a cavernous gulf between the teams in football terms that commitment was Carlisle's one hope.

After all, Dennis Bergkamp, to name but one in the Arsenal line-up, comfortably earns more than twice as much in a week as the entire Carlisle playing staff.

Ninety places separated the clubs at either end of the Football league. And Carlisle, the club which has escaped relegation to the Conference on the last day of the past two seasons, already look doomed six points adrift at the bottom of the third division.

This week, however, there was salvation rather than insurrection in the hearts of the Brunton Park supporters with the news that the eight-year reign of Michael Knighton - the man they blame for all the club's woes - had sold out to a Gibraltar-based investment company.

It remains to be seen whether Knighton has gone for good. His son Mark is on the new board and talk abounds that Knighton, who famously ball-juggled in front of the Stretford End when attempting to buy Manchester United 14 years ago, retains links with the new owners.

One suggestion is that the plan of the new owners is to merge the club with Clydebank and play in the Scottish League next season.

Whatever, Carlisle had much to fight for in front of 15,300 supporters and they began with a spring in their stride which matched the crispness of the Cumbrian air.

Manager Ian Atkins' game-plan was clearly to deny Arsenal space, to close down Vieira at all cost and hit the Gunners on the break. All very well for a Premiership side - not so easy for the worst side in the Football League.

Still, it is testimony to their spirit that they produced a series of chances in the first-half which came close to shocking the Gunners.

The pity was that they all fell to striker Ian Stevens, who on the afternoon gave the impression he could not have hit the impressive stand which so drained Carlisle's finances.

So it was that the world of the Cumbrians began to crumble in the 22nd minute - and almost inevitably it was Vieira at the heart of the action.

He burst forward with that familiar loping run deep into the heart of Carlisle's static midfield. The pass he unleashed was as precise as it was punishing to defenders without the vision and the pace required at the top level. And it fell sweetly into the path of countryman Wiltord who, without breaking stride, turned neatly to glide the ball with his right foot past Glennon from 18 yards. One-nil to the Arsenal and we waited for the floodgates to open.

Instead we got that unsavoury incident in the 28th minute, the type which seems to follow Arsenal wherever they go.

Desperate to get back into the match Prokas lunged into several ferocious midfield tackles, one of which felled Vieira and appeared to be of the reckless over-the-top two-footed variety.

The Arsenal players certainly thought so and Nelson Vivas was handed the yellow card by referee Stephen Lodge for his protestations as players from both sides squared up to each other.

Wenger also remonstrated angrily with the assistant referee on the touchline as the flashpoint threatened to get out of hand. Strangely, however, Mr Lodge saw nothing wrong with the tackle and Prokas didn't receive a warning, while Vieira returned gingerly to the action.

The simmering undercurrent of unpleasantness continued at the start of the second-half when Arsenal's Ashley Cole squared up to Mark Birch and both received a lecture from the referee.

Arsenal, however, should have extended their lead in the 50th minute when Fredrik Ljungberg met a quite exquisite through-ball from Robert Pires only to see his shot saved by the legs of Glennon.

Not content with that the sprightly Carlisle goalkeeper rose to dive to his left to palm away a thunderous shot on the rebound from Wiltord.

Five minutes later Glennon was again the hero, throwing himself twice at the feet of Bergkamp to keep the Cumbrian hopes alive.

And so Arsenal at last began to dominate, though Carlisle should receive much credit for their effort.

Before the game Wenger had said that cup ties such as these were akin to road crashes.

"You just hope you don't get hit," he said. Today he didn't, but it was a close call.

Teams:

Carlisle: Glennon, Whitehead, Darby (Heggs 53), Winstanley, Birch, Hemmings (Thwaites 86), Connelly, Soley, Prokas, Dobie, Stevens (Halliday 69).

Subs Not Used: Hore, Inglis.

Booked: Heggs, Hemmings.

Arsenal: Manninger, Dixon, Stepanovs, Vivas, Cole (Malz 85), Parlour, Vieira, Ljungberg (Silvinho 76), Pires, Bergkamp, Wiltord (Danilevicius 81).

Subs Not Used: Lukic, Halls.

Booked: Vivas, Bergkamp, Parlour.

Goals: Wiltord 22.

Att: 15,300

Ref: S Lodge (Barnsley).