CURTIS: Coped quite well considering what he was up against...6

BERG: Rovers' best defender by a country mile...7

TAYLOR: Struggled to keep tabs on the elusive Dennis Bergkamp but the whole experience will have made him a better player...5

FLITCROFT: Left chasing shadows in the opening 20 minutes as the Gunners turned the screw but he dug in and improved after that...6

DUNN: Could have snatched a late consolation but not as influential as Souness would have hoped...6

MAHON: Asked to play as a wing-back and he looked lost in the first half as Arsenal exploited the space in behind him...5

BERKOVIC: Drifted in and out of the game before he was sacrificed for more defensive stability at half time...5

MCATEER: Worked his socks off and was nearly rewarded with a goal only for his effort to be ruled out for handball...6

HUGHES: Plenty of huff and puff up front but never posed Adams and Co any serious threat...5

BENT: Looked Rovers' most likely source of a goal and the outcome might have been different had he converted that early chance...7

SUBS:

BJORNEBYE: Brought stability to Rovers' defence...7

DUFF: Offered attacking options down the left...6

JANSEN: A real handful when he finally came on...7

ARSENAL:

SEAMAN: A commanding figure between the posts...7

DIXON: Still defying the ageing process...7

ADAMS: A tower of strength...8

PIRES: Exploited the space behind Mahon...8

LJUNGBERG: A steady performer down the left...7

BERGKAMP: One exquisite first half chip...8

WILTORD: Tore Rovers apart with his pace...9

LAUREN: An athletic performer in midfield...7

GRIMANDI: Helped win control of the engine room...7

LUZHNY: An excellent foil for Adams at the back...7

COLE: Outstanding. An England international in the making...9

SUBS:

SILVINHO: Didn't really get into it...6

HENRY: A few flashes of genius...7

VIEIRA: A man-mountain in midfield...7

STATS:

Goal attempts...Rovers 8 Arsenal 11

Shots on target...Rovers 3 Arsenal 9

Woodwork...Rovers 1 Arsenal 0

Offsides...Rovers 5 Arsenal 2

Corners...Rovers 6 Arsenal 2

Free kicks...Rovers 11 Arsenal 7

Attendance...36,304

Referee...Mr J Winter 8

Bookings...Rovers; McAteer (foul) Arsenal; None

Sendings off...None

TIME FOR ACTION:02

01 Rovers nearly make the dream start but Marcus Bent heads narrowly over after a raking right-wing centre from Jason McAteer

02 Disaster strikes as Sylvain Wiltord swivels to sweep home a right-footed shot inside Brad Friedel's left-hand post

04 Friedel is forced into evasive action by a sumptuous chip from Dennis Bergkamp

05 The game is all but over as a contest as Tony Adams rises to meet Ashley Cole's corner with a thunderous header

10 Arsenal nearly grab a third when Wiltord's shot is hacked off the line by McAteer but the linesman then flags anyway

15 Referee Jeff Winter waves away penalty appeals at both ends in the space of 30 seconds as first Eyal Berkovic goes to ground then Bergkamp appears to be tripped by Martin Taylor

36 The Gunners kill the tie off as Robert Pires guides an expert right-foot finish past Friedel following Wiltord's exquisite cross-field pass

42 Friedel breathes a sigh of relief as a shot from Bergkamp flies wide of the far post

56 Rovers think they have pulled one back but McAteer's effort is ruled out for handball

59 Henning Berg's sloppy backpass nearly gifts Arsenal a fourth but Friedel saves smartly from Wiltord

80 A great piece of skill from Matt Jansen sends David Dunn clear but David Seaman is out quickly to make a block

90 It's just not Rovers' day as Bent sees his explosive volley cannon back off a post