 Arsenal 's fifth round match was away to league rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on 16 February 2003 . After Ryan Giggs missed the chance to score past an open goal , midfielder Edu gave Arsenal the lead through a free kick which took a deflection off David Beckham 's shoulder . Striker Sylvain Wiltord scored the second goal of the match in the 52nd minute , running onto a pass from Edu and side @-@ footing the ball past goalkeeper Fabien Barthez . Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira said of the performance : " We knew when we lost here in the league that we had lost the battle in midfield . We had to put that right , and we did . " In the sixth round , Arsenal was drawn at home to Chelsea in a repeat of the previous season 's final . Chelsea defender John Terry put Chelsea ahead with a header from a set piece before Arsenal responded through Jeffers and Thierry Henry . Frank Lampard scored a late equaliser for the visiting team meaning the match was replayed at Stamford Bridge . An own goal by Terry and a strike by Wiltord in the space of seven minutes during the replay gave Arsenal an early lead against Chelsea . Despite going down to ten men after Cygan was sent off and Terry scoring from a header , the away team scored a third goal through Lauren to ensure progression into the semi @-@ finals . In the semi @-@ final against Sheffield United on 13 April 2003 at Old Trafford , Freddie Ljungberg scored the winning goal to help Arsenal reach their third successive FA Cup final appearance . The match was best remembered for David Seaman 's late save , which prevented Sheffield United from equalising . 
