Now in his 11th season with Arsenal, Ray Parlour has probably not scored as many goals as he should have done from his midfield role.

Indeed, his wonderful opening strike against Chelsea in Arsenal's FA Cup triumph was only his second goal this season, his other coming against Gillingham in the cup.

Yet if he is streets behind Freddie Ljungberg - Arsenal's other final marksman - in the goalscoring stakes there is no denying Parlour's technical brilliance.

His goal, a surging run followed by a vicious shot, was reminiscent of his strike against Valencia in last season's Champions League.

Against Chelsea, after picking up the ball from Sylvain Wiltord, Parlour burst forward, turned inside his man, before curling his shot past Carlo Cudicini.

It was a marvellous goal - but there was arguably better to come when Ljungberg hit the second minutes later...