ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB became double winners for the second time at Wembley yesterday as a typically impressive display swept aside an anaemic Newcastle and landed them the FA Cup. Goals from Dutchman Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka sealed the historic victory and turned manager Arsene Wenger into a legendary figure in what is only his first full season in charge. Despite surviving a Newcastle resurgence for ten minutes early in the second half and a dogged attempt by the Toon to claw themselves back into the game as the final whistle approached, Arsenal thoroughly deserved their victory. United hit the woodwork twice as first Nikos Dabizas headed against the crossbar and then Alan Shearer capitalised on a rare Martin Keown error to strike against the post. But Arsenal controlled the vast majority of the game, showed more flair, more creativity and more willingness to take the game to their opponents. Ray Parlour, in particular, turned in an outstanding performance, breaking up Newcastle moves with almost monotonous regularity before setting off on penetrative runs deep into opposition territory. Parlour was, as ever, brilliantly supported by the two Frenchmen, Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit, as Wenger's midfield attempted to implement the game plan that had clearly been laid out by their manager. Realising that Arsenal's pace up front would be hard for an average Newcastle defence to cope with, the Gunners' midfielders constantly tried to put balls over the top for the front pair of Anelka and Christopher Wreh to latch onto. The tactic paid dividends in the 23rd minute as Petit lofted the ball over Alessandro Pistone's head and into the path of Overmars. The little Dutchman's searing pace took him clear of the Italian and he calmly used his favoured left foot to slide the ball under the body of the advancing Shay Given to give Arsenal a deserved lead. It was the 16th goal of the season from the FA Cup ever-present. Alan Shearer was being denied any kind of service by an inept Newcastle midfield and his frustration boiled over in injury time of the first half as a late lunge on Tony Adams brought him a yellow card. The tempo of the game, played in stifling 90 degree heat, inevitably meant that the second half would be a little less furious. Mistakes became more frequent and Newcastle at last looked capable of getting back on level terms. They poured more midfielders forward in search of an equaliser and after an Adams foul on Dabizas on the Arsenal right flank, the same player met the free kick to head against the bar. Then in the 64thminute Shearer robbed stumbling Martin Keown on the edge of the area and was mighty unlucky to see his fine shot from a difficult angle come back off the post. It proved a critical miss. Just five minutes later Arsenal struck again. Another long through ball caught the Newcastle defence napping, Anelka was first to react, then raced on and smashed the ball first time across Given and into the far corner of the net. Nothing Kenny Dalglish could do seemed to help Newcastle find a way back and the introduction of Barnes for Temur Ketsbia, Andersson for Stuart Pearce and Steve Watson for Warren Barton did nothing but keep the status quo as the Highbury side retained control. Arsenal ran out worthy winners and firmly wrote themselves into the record books as their delirious supporters basked in their glory and in the sunshine. Now the debates can begin in earnest as to which of the two Arsenal double winners is the greatest!

365 SAYS...   THE ODDS of Arsenal winning the double at the start of this season were 125-1, which now seems ludicrous in the bright May sunshine. But at the outset who amongst us really, truly believed that Arsene Wenger's Gunners could even win a single major trophy this season, never mind two? Wenger's team looked interesting, but was surely too inexperienced, and yes, too foreign to do anything incredible. Well, how wrong we all were. Arsenal have been a revelation and again at Wembley they proved that the reason they have picked up the two greatest prizes in the English game in the same season is simply because they deserved to. They showed more inventiveness than Newcastle in this FA Cup final and more assuredness too as they actively sought out the opportunities to score goals and win the game. The confidence that surged through every area of the team, from Captain Tony Adams at the back, to the inspirational Ray Parlour in midfield and on to the mercurial and elusive Nicolas Anelka up front, suggested that they knew they had the measure of Newcastle. And so it proved. Wenger has put together a side that combines good, old-fashioned sweat and toil with impressive guile. It was again an irresistible combination and although Arsenal never played anything like their best football of the season (don't forget, they were without their most inspirational player in Dennis Bergkamp) they always looked more comfortable than the Geordies. Of course if luck had run Newcastle's way when the woodwork twice denied them, things may have turned out differently. But the Gunners deserved their slices of good fortune. They were the better team and always looked like they wanted to play a more entertaining game than their opponents, who again looked ordinary at best, boring and hopeless at worst. The FA Cup will be sitting proudly in the Highbury boardroom tonight. And there's absolutely no other place it deserves to be. ARSENAL: Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Vieira, Adams, Anelka, Overmars, Wreh (Platt 62), Keown, Parlour, Petit Subs Not Used: Bould, Wright, Manninger, Grimandi Booked: Winterburn NEWCASTLE UNITED: Given, Barton (Watson 76), Batty, Howey, Lee, Shearer, Speed, Pearce (Andersson 73), Ketsbaia (Barnes 86), Pistone, Dabizas Subs Not Used: Hislop, Albert Booked: Shearer, Barton, Dabizas, Howey Att: 79,183 Ref: P A Durkin (Portland)

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