We'd have been forgiven for pre-match nerves, on seeing that Ashley Cole had joined Silvinho and Vieira on the injury list. But utility man extraordinaire Nelson Vivas filled in well at left-back, and in Vieira's place there was the superlative Ray Parlour.

Even without his 3 goals he'd have been a contender for man-of-the-match. His excellent hattrick put him well clear though, and this on a day when Arsenal didn't really have a weak point. Parlour was everywhere, even Vieira himself rarely has such influence on a match.

Ok, so Newcastle were weak (...er than normal), but this was an Arsenal performance that would have troubled anybody. And with Man Utd losing a 2 goal lead to draw at Charlton we're only 6 points behind. Worth remembering that only twice ever have the Premiership's Xmas leaders gone on to win the league!

Henry got the first on 13 after a fantastic long ball from Adams. Henry's first touch took him away from the close attention of a defender and he slotted the ball inside the far post.

Parlour added a second 3 minutes later. Ljungberg won the ball in our half, came forward and squared to Kanu who flicked it forward into Parlour's run and Ray blasted it inside the far post from the corner of the box.

Kanu's third was simple finish after a long ball over the top from Parlour, leaving Ray to wrap up his hattrick in the lats 5 minutes. First a simple header after Henry's run and cross from the goal-line, and then a one-on-one effort after Pires's threaded ball put him clear.

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