Arsenal win the FA Cup on penalties

Arsenal have won the 2005 FA Cup final, beating Manchester United on penalties after a match in which they looked second best for long periods.

Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira scored the decisive kick after Jens Lehmann had saved Paul Scholes' effort to finish a pulsating clash that saw Jose Antonio Reyes become only the second player to be sent off in the final.

Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy both hit the post and Rio Ferdinand had a goal disallowed as United dominated but as so often this season, they failed to take their chances and eventually paid the ultimate price.

United surprisingly started with Darren Fletcher in place of Ryan Giggs - so often the scourge of Arsenal in the past. The Gunners had a surprise of their own with Arsene Wenger opting for Philippe Senderos and Kolo Toure instead of veteran Sol Campbell.

The Red Devils got off to a brighter start, setting the tone for the afternoon and Christiano Ronaldo created the game's first chance when he burst down the left, beat Lauren and delivered a pinpoint cross that the unmarked Paul Scholes could only head over.

Arsenal responded when United keeper Roy Carroll, rushing way off his line, was beaten to a long through ball by Reyes and left stranded. However the retreating United defenders ensured he couldn't get a clear shot on goal and his half-hearted cross to Robert Pires was cleared.

The tricky Ronaldo meanwhile was continuing to cause problems for the Arsenal defence as United went close three times in as many minutes.

First his 28th minute run resulted in the ball going to the edge of the box from where man-of-the-match Wayne Rooney shot only to see Germany's Lehmann block with his legs. Rio Ferdinand put the rebound in the back of the net and peeled off in celebration but his effort was ruled out for offside.

Van Nistelrooy's run down the right then set up another chance for Rooney and this time the teenager's powerful strike was acrobatically tipped over by Lehmann. From the ensuing corner Rooney flashed a 20-yard volley wide.

United started the second half as they had ended the first - on top. Rooney skipped past two challenges on the right of the Arsenal penalty area before getting in a shot which was deflected behind for a corner.

Meanwhile, Dennis Bergkamp looks increasingly isolated up front for the Gunners as Wenger's policy of playing him ahead of Reyes meant that the United defence were rarely trouble by pace.

Ronaldo never gave the Arsenal defence a moments peace and after he was brought down after yet another surging run, he saw his 25-yard free kick go narrowly wide of Lehmann's left post with the keeper beaten.

On the 65th minute Robert Pires wasted Arsenal's best chance of the half when the ball fell to him inside to United penalty area but he could only blast over.

But it was United who still dominated, Rooney hitting the near post from out on the right before Ronaldo's centre just failed to find van Nistelrooy.

Ronaldo won yet another free-kick but this time Lehmann saved Rooney's low, long-range effort and when Gilberto brought down Rooney with 10 minutes to go, Ronaldo's free-kick failed to test Lehmann.

With five minutes to go Lehmann missed a Ronaldo cross but Keane's shot bounced off a forest of Arsenal legs. From the corner van Nistelrooy's header was amazingly nodded onto the crossbar by Ljungberg before being scrambled to safety.

United continued to press in the dying stages but were unable to find a way through and so the game went into extra time. Seven minutes later, substitute Robin van Persie forced Carroll into his first save of the game, tipping a free-kick around the post, giving Arsenal their first corner of the match.

Back came United, but claims of handball against Cole and Toure were turned down, Lehmann pulled off another superb save to deny Scholes and Van Nistelrooy planted a free header over the top.

Reyes and Vieira both came close to a second yellow card as tempers became frayed in the latter stages as the pressure rose and the Spaniard's luck eventually ran out for bringing down Ronaldo.

That reduced Arsenal's penalty-taking options but all of their spot-kicks were confidently struck, while Paul Scholes saw his effort expertly saved by Lehmann who capped a stunning display with that save.

With the spot-kicks level at 4-4, Vieira stepped up to inflict the final blow and give Arsenal their third FA Cup triumph in four years.