Reyes raises the roof

But this thunderous 2-1 triumph at Highbury belonged to the young senor from Sevilla. Two goals in five minutes, the first confirming his shooting ability and the second his pace and positioning, demonstrated exactly why Arsene Wenger agreed to pay what could amount to £17million for him.

'The boy is 20 so there is still a lot to come from him,' said the Arsenal coach, trying hard not to sound too self-satisfied. 'He's beginning to feel more comfortable with his team-mates but he doesn't speak the language yet so he's going to need time to adapt.

'It's not easy when you're a youngster joining a big club with so many impressive players. You can see that the timing of his movement has still to be adjusted to that of his team-mates.'

Reyes would not have played, of course, had Thierry Henry been fit. The absence of the Frenchman, resting a foot injury, gave Reyes the chance to make his mark and, just as at the same stage at Old Trafford last season, showed that Arsenal can survive the biggest challenges without Henry.

A peripheral figure for much of a compelling and physically demanding first half, Reyes flitted in and out of the game without seriously troubling William Gallas or John Terry.

Chelsea were the more menacing side in the first half, with Frank Lampard and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink going just wide and Jesper Gronkjaer having a goal wrongly disallowed for offside.

Finally, they got what they deserved when Jens Lehmann's careless clearance was intercepted by Scott Parker. His ball forward found Adrian Mutu, who twisted past Kolo Toure and then hit a crisp shot beyond the dive of the Arsenal goalkeeper in the 41st minute.

Ranieri's half-time talk warned of Arsenal's inevitable response. 'We needed to be compact and tight and I told them that it would be important to score a second goal,' he said.

You need possession to do that and Arsenal allowed them very little in the second half. Chelsea's inability to press the ball as a unit cost them dearly and probably made the difference.

Ranieri admitted as much when he said: 'We made mistakes when we gave Reyes too much room. We must press the ball more quickly, not give him time to look and shoot.'

Parker was the only Chelsea player to get near Reyes as he carried the ball forward in the 56th minute before unleashing a rising drive from 30 yards that flew past Carlo Cudicini. It was a wonderful shot and had a galvanising effect on the whole Arsenal team.

'His first goal gave him a lift,' said Wenger. 'You could see a difference straight away.'

Five minutes later Patrick Vieria, a colossal presence in midfield, slid a pass between two defenders and Reyes went after it like a whippet, clipping his shot past substitute goalkeeper Neil Sullivan, who had just replaced the injured Cudicini.

The FA Cup holders, now serious contenders for a third 'double' under Wenger, were ecstatic.

Suddenly, the sun was streaming down on north London and you sensed the final outcome was inevitable.

Ranieri sent on Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole but despite much frantic effort Chelsea couldn't break Arsenal. It was a familiar storyline in a longrunning serial dating back to 1947.

What's Arsenal's secret? 'I don't know,' replied Ranieri. 'But I do know we play them again on Saturday.'

And Henry should be back for that one. Life just isn't fair!