Arsenal 3
van Persie 46, 84, Gray og 50

Argyle 1
Duguid 53

AT the end of the day, these things we know:

Arsenal are one of the top footballing sides in the world;

Argyle are a cracking Championship team, especially when they obey their manager's oft espoused virtues of shape and discipline;

the Green Army in full, united, voice away from home is magnificent to behold;

the FA Cup is a wonderful competition.

Nothing happened on the Pilgrims' first visit to the Emirates to change any of the above, but it was a great occasion and no less an enthralling game in which laurels did not go only to the victors: Paul Sturrock - for his unquestioned tactical nous - and his gallant challengers, as well as the Argyle fans, can take a thoroughly deserved bow.

Not only winners are heroes.

Arsenal, though, progressed to the fourth round, knocking Argyle off their feet with a one-two combination from captain Robin van Persie and Pilgrims' debutant David Gray's own goal.

The Greenss, though, bounced back straight away by reducing the arrears through their first away goal since mid-November by Karl Duguid, and a late van Persie strike gave the scoreline a look that did not truly reflect the match.

Argyle manager Paul Sturrock had made six changes to the 11 that had stated the previous Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Cardiff, a line-up that had, itself, been the subject of seven switches of personnel.

The most noteworthy was at right-back, where, with David McNamee serving the first of a three-match suspension after walking at Ninian Park, on-loan Manchester United defender Gray made only his second senior stating appearance. The other one had been with Crewe Alexandra last season.

Second on the list of names to get excited about was that of Paul Gallagher, who had progressed from being an unlikely starter following a bad knee injury, sustained in the Boxing Day home victory over Southampton, to a talismanic figure that Luggy admitted in midweek he was prepared to rush back for the cup-tie.

Gallagher formed one half of the Pilgrims' attacking threat, supplementing back-again Rory Fallon, whose father had flown in from New Zealand to watch the match.

Craig Cathcart dropped back to partner Marcel Seip in the centre of a defence showing three changes from Cardiff, Chris Barker coming in at left-back completing the trio of switches.

The right half of the midfield was totally repopulated, with Chris Clark - an FA Cup goalscorer on his debut last season, and the only person to breach Portsmouth's defence in the entire competition - being recalled to the flank and Duguid resuming his captain's role inside him.

Cardiff starters Gary Sawyer and Jason Puncheon disappeared from sight altogether, despite the FA Cup allowing for seven named substitutes, while Krisztián Timár, Mathias Kouo-Doumbe, Yoann Folly and Steve MacLean took their places on the replacements' bench - although "bench" rather underserves the plush padded seats in the visitors' "area".

Arsenal made four changes from the side that had beaten Portsmouth 1-0 in their last Premier League game of 2008, leaving out goalkeeper Manuel Alumnia, defender Gael Clichy, midfielder Denilson and striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

Not that Arsene Wenger's minor tinkering with his side in any way weakened the Gunners: Dutch international striker van Persie was recalled, as captain, to partner Nicklas Bendtner; Swiss international Johan Djourou came into the defence; Polish international Lukasz Fabianski replaced Manuel Alumnia in goal; and former Cardiff starlet Aaron Ramsey - a goalscorer in Europe this year - came into the midfield.

Despite temperatures approaching zero, Argyle did not freeze on the big occasion, and were initially kept warm enough by chasing the ball as Arsenal passed it crisply to and fro in front of them.

The first scare came after a protracted game of chase, when Ramsey slipped the attentions of Luke Summerfield to play in van Persie, but Romain Larrieu was alive to the situation and saved at the Dutchman's feet, and again as the Gunners' skipper reacted quicker to the loose ball.

The Pilgrims' discipline and competitive desire saw them through some potentially sticky situations, and they were not without moments of their own. Jamie Mackie, notably, saw a volley blocked at the expense of a corner after Seip had won Clark's free-kick deep into the Arsenal penalty area.

It took Arsenal 15 minutes to fully unlock the Pilgrims' defence, but although another charge from Ramsey saw Emmanuel Eboue get a clear sight of goal, Larrieu again showed the shot-stopping form that had once interested his compatriot in the opposition dug-out and turned the ball wide.

Within seconds, Eboue made an important contribution at the other end, turning behind Clark's driven cross to the near post with Fallon lurking behind him. A sustained period of Argyle attacking ended when Summerfield overhit a cross.

The Gunners fired back and Bacary Sagna caused some consternation with a cross that neither Larrieu nor Clark could clear, and Samir Nasri's subsequent cross found Bendtner for a header that went only narrowly wide.

Larrieu then thwarted William Gallas, who had stayed up from a corner and who fired in a shot that Barker deflected before the Pilgrims' French number one beat out a shot from Ramsey.

Argyle relieved the pressure by turning on some heat of their own. Fallon maybe should have done better when a Summerfield corner - won by Gray's athleticism on the right - fell kindly for him, before Gallagher showed exactly why Luggy had been so keen for him to play.

The on-loan Blackburn forward rounded off a pleasing Pilgrims' spell by teeing himself up for a volley that dipped quickly and required the back-pedaling Fabianski to tip the ball over his crossbar as he fell into his goalnet.

Eboue reasserted the home team's slipping authority when he was allowed too much time to turn just outside the edge of the Argyle penalty area and loosed off a drive that Larrieu watched go wide.

The same fate befell Bendtner's diving header a few minutes later after a sublime measured cross into the box from substitute Kieran Gibbs, who had replaced the injured Mikael Silvestre at left-back.

As the clock wound down to half-time, the pace of what had developed into everything clichéd that is good about the FA Cup increased and van Persie slipped the offside trap to drive the ball in to the near post, where Clark cleared.

Duguid was booked as two things started to become clearly apparent: Arsenal did not relish the Pilgrims' committed approach, and referee Michael Jones tended to show them the sympathy their carping sought.

Having resisted so well for 45 minutes, the opening five minutes of the second half were a real bucket of cold water.

The Gunners quickly won a corner, taken by Nasri, from which van Persie was left unmarked to stoop and head the ball past Larrieu from unmissable range just 53 seconds after the restart. Clearly, the Argyle marking was mucked up.

Four minutes later, Seip allowed van Persie to turn inside the penalty area on the right and the Dutchman's driven pass across the face of the goal was turned in, claimed by Bendtner but with suggestions that Gray might have supplied the fatal final touch.

Any suggestions that Argyle might collapse like a house of cards were refuted immediately when Gray beat Sagna for pace - no mean feat, that - and intelligently squared across the top of the six-yard box and Duguid, racing in, steered the delivery home with his left foot.

After three goals in little more than eight minutes, the game reverted to its first-half cat-and-mouse guise of counter and counter-counter, with few clear-cut chances being created at either end.

MacLean replaced the obviously spent Gallagher to provide the tireless Fallon with support, while Arsenal brought on the Mexican Carlos Vela for Eboue as either manager sought the crucial next goal.

It appeared that although Argyle were in control of themselves, and containing one of the world's best sides, Arsenal were in control of the game.

With 12 minutes of the 90 left, the lock-picker Craig Noone came on for Clark, a move which preceded a delicately curled shot from the edge of the box by Fallon that hit the stanchion supporting Fabianski's goal.

Ramsey flashed a shot over the left-hand corner of Larrieu's goal, with the Frenchman beaten, as the game wound down and, naturally became stretched.

Larrieu was forced into a sweeper's role to beat Nasri to the ball outside his area, and could only watch as Gibbs lobbed the loose ball goalwards, but, fortunately, Seip was there to clear.

Van Persie had the final word when he sped on to Nasri's lofted through-ball, and, although Larrieu half-palmed away his attempted lob, the skipper stayed alert to smash the ball home.

MacLean came close to reducing the arrears again when Mackie's fine work down the right saw the Scot's shot fromk a grounded position well saved by a combination of Fabianski and Djourou.

Rick Cowdery

Arsenal (4-4-2): 21 Lukasz Fabianski, 3 Bacary Sagna, 10 William Gallas, 20 Johan Djourou, 18 Mikael Silvestre (40 Kieran Gibbs 30); 27 Emmanuel Eboue (12 Carlos Vela 70), 2 Abou Diaby, 16 Aaron Ramsey, 8 Samir Nasri; 26 Nicklas Bendtner (19 Jack Wilshere 86), 11 Robin van Persie (capt). Substitutes (not used): 1 Manuel Alumnia, 25 Emmanuel Adebayor, 28 Amaury Bischoff, 47 Mark Randall.

Booked: Bendtner 22.

Argyle (4-4-1-1): 1 Romain Larrieu: 33 David Gray, 22 Craig Cathcart, 19 Marcel Seip (capt), 15 Chris Barker; 6 Chris Clark (17 Craig Noone 78), 20 Luke Summerfield, 2 Karl Duguid (capt), 25 Jamie Mackie; 11 Paul Gallagher (9 Steve MacLean 72); 14 Rory Fallon. Substitutes (not used): 5 Krisztián Timár, 8 Yoan Folly, 13 Mathias Kouo-Dolumbe, 27 Lloyd Saxton (gk), 31 Emile Mpenza.

Booked: Duguid 45.

Referee: Michael Jones (Cheshire).

Attendance: 59,424 (9,000 away est.).