Parlour's long-range effort put Arsene Wenger's men ahead late in the game before Freddie Ljungberg finished off the Blues with another excellent solo effort.

It meant Arsenal - beaten in last year's final by Liverpool - are halfway towards the third League and Cup double in their history with a point required for the Barclaycard Premiership title when they travel to Manchester United on Wednesday night.

"It was a great day," said Parlour. "Last year was really disappointing and to come back this year shows real resilience.

"We ground it out and it was a great performance in the end. It was a London derby and it was always going to be tight."

The midfielder conceded: "I do not score many goals like that. I was really pleased and the lads took it on from there."

Parlour looked forward to claiming the point which would take the Premiership title to Highbury.

"It's fantastic for the fans and hopefully we can do it on Wednesday. But there is still a long way to. We have got to go to Manchester and do it there." Ljungberg, scorer of Arsenal's second goal, said that last year's final had provided a huge motivation for the team to be successful this time.

He said: "We fight for each other in this team and we just love to play football. We lost last year so we were very determined to win today. You don't want to be remembered for losing two finals in a row."

Patrick Vieira added: "It was important for the club, the players and especially myself after last year. I think we showed our character and desire.

"We worked really hard today. It's fantastic." Dennis Bergkamp admitted it had been a sweet victory for Arsenal after the disappointment of last season's defeat against Liverpool.

"Last season we had the disappointment but we've bounced back this season and the manager has played a big part in that. It's a great result for us. The feeling is so special and it's been a brilliant day."

Chelsea's Graeme Le Saux underlined the disappointment in the Blues camp.

He said: "It's really hard to take because we seemed to be pretty much in control but then they broke away and it was a fantastic finish by Ray Parlour. The second goal was a kick in the teeth for us. It was a wonderful run and a great finish by Freddie.

"We really did think that we could win it today. We've tried our best but it just wasn't good enough." Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger claimed the frustration of last year's defeat had increased the importance of a win against Chelsea today.

He said: "We were very frustrated last year and we showed a lot to get back this year. We wanted to play a game that showed the character of the team. They were two superb goals. Parlour and Ljungberg were absolutely fantastic today and we scored at a point of the game when Chelsea were playing very well."

The Frenchman was confident his men could now wrap up the double against Manchester United on Wednesday. He added: "We have the belief that we'll do the double. We have a big game on Wednesday and we'll try and do it."