Arsenal breeze past Spurs to pass their latest test and again provedoubters wrong

[Mirror] Tell Arsene Wenger – punching the North London night air – the FA Cup does not matter.

Tell Tim Sherwood – shoulders sloping, drained with disappointment – the FA Cup does not matter.

Tell a distraught Danny Rose or a knee-sliding Tomas Rosicky. It matters alright. But this was more than a thrillingly jaunty first step towards Wembley for Arsenal.

This was another dig at the doubters, another performance to prod those who believe an unbalanced squad will be this team’s downfall.

It was another reason for Arsenal supporters to believe.

Those who bookmarked that humiliation at the Etihad as stark evidence of Arsenal’s fallibility - and I was among them - are having to reassess.

Can this collection of players - light upfront, heavy in midfield - really compete on three fronts?

If the strength of your reaction to a thumping setback is what measures winners, then Arsenal are becoming flint-hard contenders in a all competitions.

For all his apparent lack of urgency, Wenger must still surely be pursuing striking options. But there was enough evidence here - even after Vlad Chiriches had impaled a sly stud in his ankle and before he was chaired away on a stretcher - to suggest Theo Walcott actually will be able to cut it as a central striker, fitness permitting.

Curving his runs with improved timing, he was 83 minutes of pure harassment for a stretched Spurs defence.

(And he is clearly developing a brave streak, witness his 2-0 gesture.)           

He knows the score: Theo Walcott does his best impression of a scoreboard

The holes Walcott’s pace punched open were filled by the darting ambition of Rosicky, Jack Wilshere and the mightily impressive Serge Gnabry.

The 18-year-old might have benefited from a spot of Wenger’s FA Cup rotation yesterday but he will have a significant part to play in the defining four months of the season - and a significant part to play in Arsenal’s long-term ambitions.

He was part of a five-man midfield blur that spun Spurs dizzy on an evening of education for a rookie manager.

Sherwood claims management has caused sleepless nights. Well, he could not have looked more laid back had he brought a duvet to his Emirates bucket-seat. Appearances suggest he has taken to this lark like a cockerel to crowing, relishing every moment of unexpected elevation.

But this was a reminder that not everything is as straightforward as benefiting from Manchester United’s transitional troubles.

Putting 19-year-old Nabil Bentaleb into a four-man midfield against elite opposition smacked of bravado. It proved rash.

He acquitted himself decently but an uncomplicated, fairly rigid 4-4-2 system will always allow a top team to find joy between the lines - especially if one of the two, Emmanuel Adebayor, appeared to be either partially fit or partially interested. Or both.

And especially if the other is the struggling Roberto Soldado.

Spurs looked far more threatening when switched to 4-5-1.

The learning process will be swift for the bright Sherwood and he has brought a vibrancy to this Tottenham team that was resting under Andre Villas-Boas.

He has no need to fret too much about this.

But Wenger can start to wonder. Wonder if the taste of success - last experienced in this grand competition almost nine years ago - really is on its way back.