Kanu magic weaves spell

This was an afternoon of such unbelievable excitement the script could have been written specifically to impress the watching FIFA delegation assessing England's bid for the 2006 World Cup. If so, South Africa and Germany have no chance now.

Genius was afoot as Arsenal, losing 2-0 to one of their main Premiership rivals with just 15 minutes left, staged a comeback which, four days after they had escaped, consigned Chelsea to hell once more. The star of the show was Nwankwo Kanu, whose injury-time winner completed a fantastic hat-trick.

A perverse fixture computer had sandwiched this crucial tie between two equally vital Champions League games for both sides. But though each manager rested a key player - Dennis Bergkamp for Arsenal, Gianfranco Zola for Chelsea - the teams still managed to produce a classic, Kanu a fairytale.

Arsenal's defeat by Barcelona was forgotten at the time as Kanu produced an audacious and masterly strike which hit the net as if secreted there by an illusionist. Mistakes by Dennis Wise then Albert Ferrer had allowed the striker possession by the left-hand by-line. Faced by Ed de Goey, who had come sprinting out of his area, Kanu cleverly dipped his shoulder, dummied past the goalkeeper and found himself standing no more than two feet from the by-line with two defenders in front of him.

"I expected him to cross," admitted his manager Arsene Wenger. But cross he did not, choosing instead to scoop the ball from the acutest of angles over the heads of Marcel Desailly then Frank Leboeuf on the line.

"If he hadn't scored it could have upset you because he really should have passed. However, great players can prove you wrong. It is one of the best goals I've seen," said Wenger.

Kanu's two earlier strikes had lifted him onto a mental plane uninhabited by self-doubt, so he only had one thought. "I was never going to cross," he said. "Immediately I beat the goalkeeper, my mind was on how to score. At 2-2, there was nothing else for it."

In a way Arsenal's victory, though by the skin of their teeth, was deserved. They dominated the opening 40 minutes, but failed to turn their superiority into goals. And Chelsea scored with their only decent chance of the first half, Dan Petrescu crossing and Tore Andre Flo heading home.

David Seaman denied Flo just after the break but Chelsea extended their lead five minutes later. Again the Arsenal defence were at fault. First Graeme Le Saux was allowed time to cross, then Petrescu was allowed space and scored with another header.

On the half-hour Chelsea, not for the first time, gave away the ball and Kanu shot home clinically from 12 yards.

Seven minutes later, Chelsea sloppily conceded possession again and Marc Overmars set up Kanu for another clinical finish. Then came injury time and Kanu's first hat-trick for Arsenal.

Chelsea: De Goey, Ferrer, Desailly, Leboeuf, Babayaro, Petrescu, Wise, Deschamps, Le Saux (Poyet 53), Sutton, Flo (Zola 70). Subs Not Used: Hogh, Morris, Cudicini. Booked: Le Saux, Wise, Deschamps, Sutton. Goals: Flo 38, Petrescu 52.

Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Keown, Adams, Silvinho, Parlour, Ljungberg (Henry 62), Petit (Vivas 64), Overmars (Upson 90), Kanu, Suker. Subs Not Used: Manninger, Vernazza. Booked: Dixon, Suker, Petit, Vivas. Goals: Kanu 75, 83, 90.

Referee: A Wilkie (Chester Le Street).