Man United, Arsenal ease into FA Cup semis
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-13 16:40

Manchester United and Arsenal kept their seasons alive with impressive away victories over Premier League rivals in FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.

Paul Scholes struck twice as holders United crushed Southampton 4-0, and an early Fredrik Ljungberg goal gave champions Arsenal a deserved 1-0 win at 10-man Bolton Wanderers.

Southampton's Martin Cranie, left, looks on as Manchester United's Wayne Rooney holds onto the ball during their FA Cup quarter-final soccer game in Southampton, England, Saturday March 12, 2005. [AP]

United and Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League in midweek and lag eight and 10 points respectively behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, leaving the Cup as their only realistic chance of lifting a trophy.

"We want to win everything," United defender Rio Ferdinand told the BBC. "This season wasn't meant to be in other competitions but, hopefully, the FA Cup will be the one.

"Our midfield and forward play was very good and I thought we kept the ball pretty well."

Captain Roy Keane put United ahead after only two minutes with a rasping angled drive that took a deflection on its way into the net.

Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo doubled the advantage just before halftime with a neat finish from eight metres after England striker Wayne Rooney had escaped down the left.

Scholes added the third with a low shot just after the interval and the former England midfielder completed the rout with a stooping far-post header three minutes from time.

United, record 11-times winners of the FA Cup, are seeking to win the trophy in successive seasons for the first time.

TOO STRONG

Arsenal were not quite as impressive but still proved too strong for Bolton.

Ljungberg dinked the ball over goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen after three minutes to put his side ahead, and the hosts' hopes plummeted six minutes later when Senegal striker El-Hadji Diouf was sent off for elbowing Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann off the ball.

Bolton had beaten Arsenal 1-0 in January, one of only four Premier League defeats suffered by the champions this season, but they rarely threatened to get back into the match.

Lehmann, who required treatment after the Diouf incident, had to be alert to keep out two headers from Greek Stelios Giannakopoulos after Gary Speed's long throws caused confusion in the heart of Arsenal's defence.

The visitors dominated possession in the second half, making their numerical advantage count to reach the FA Cup semi-finals for the fifth year in a row.

Jaaskelainen dived to keep out a fierce shot from Jose Antonio Reyes, Dennis Bergkamp volleyed inches wide and Ljungberg was guilty of an astonishing miss in the dying seconds when he scooped the ball over the crossbar from two metres with the goal gaping.

"You know what to expect when you come here," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "We needed a lot of character because we had a disappointment on Wednesday and that hurt.

"If we were not resilient and determined we would have gone out today."

Blackburn Rovers face second division Leicester City and Newcastle United meet Tottenham Hotspur to complete the quarter-finals on Sunday.

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