Ryan Giggs, remembered for one of the greatest goals in the history of the FA Cup against Arsenal in the 1999 semi-final replay, perpetrated one of the worst misses ever seen in the competition as Manchester United crashed out to the Gunners at Old Trafford.
With a shade over half an hour gone, David Beckham picked out Giggs racing in from the left with a glorious 40-yard pass.
As Arsenal defender Martin Keown slipped in his bid to clear, Giggs pounced to slip past goalkeeper David Seaman on the edge of the box.
He then drew Sol Campbell, but with the empty net gaping, the Welshman inexplicably fired his right-foot shot over the bar.
It proved a landmark in the game for, as United visibly wilted, Arsenal drew strength to go on and book their place in the quarter finals with a deserved victory.
Even without Dennis Bergkamp and Gilberto Silva, and with Thierry Henry on the bench, Arsenal outplayed and outclassed their nearest title rivals.
With Keown and Campbell shackling Ruud van NIstelrooy and company, Patrick Vieira, Ray Parlour and Edu controlled the midfield while Sylvain Wiltord and Francis Jeffers probed United's defence to great effect.
Only four minutes after that Giggs miss, Arsenal won a free kick 25 yards from goal in a central position.
Edu stepped up to curl his left-foot shot goalwards. But, as United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez covered his far post, the ball took a wicked deflection off the right shoulder of the rising Beckham and ended up in the opposite corner of the net.
Seven minutes after the interval, the game was effectively over.
Edu cut in from the left and drew the United defenders like bees to a honey pot.
The Brazilian played the ball to his right where Wiltord side stepped Wes Brown before placing his low right-foot shot from 12 yards into the net beyond the wrong-footed Barthez.
After a bad-tempered and physical opening which saw United's Paul Scholes and van Nistelrooy, and Vieira of Arsenal all booked in a frenzied seven minutes, the game settled.
But Arsenal were always in control after their opening goal.