Arsenal glided serenely into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 replay win in extra-time at Bolton following a wonderful display of power and precision football.

During the first half the Gunners played some of the most studious one-touch football ever seen in England. From the first whistle they wove the pretty passing tapestries that most of us would give our right arm to match. Once again, though, it was Arsenal's foreign legion who grabbed the glory.

There is a harmony and togetherness in this current team that only boss Arsene Wenger could have instilled. Gilberto Silva, Alexander Hleb, Denilson, the new Brazilian sensation, and Julio Baptista were happily making sweet music with their feet. It was from one of these cat's cradle of passes that Arsenal opened the scoring, Emmanuel Adebayour finishing off a mazy move that pulled Bolton from one side of the pitch to the other.

Now it has been said for some time that the arrival of so many European and South American players has blunted the growth of our home-grown British players. For those who have been honoured to watch the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry and Paolo Di Canio, this may seem a harsh criticism.

For most of the game it was rather like watching a gang of labourers being mugged by artists. Arsenal have taken football to a whole new dimension and when the lovely passing triangles work, you know that somehow the game has never been in better hands.

The longer the game went on, the more it seemed it would hang in the balance. Arsenal were clinging to their lead like a puppy with a bone in its mouth. With the 90 minutes almost up, Bolton came up with the equaliser their football hadn't  really merited.  Abdoulaye Meite squeezed home a last-gasp leveller and the Reebok Stadium breathed a sigh of relief.