Thierry Henry wrote a new chapter in his Arsenal legend as he came on to score the winner for the Gunners as they knocked Leeds out of the FA Cup for the second year in succession.
Henry struck on 78 minutes, just as Leeds looked to have secured an unlikely replay, unleashing a powerful shot low into the bottom corner after a through ball from Alex Song.
Arsenal had most of the early possession, with Leeds struggling to get a foothold in the match. Arshavin blazed high and wide on four minutes as the home side broke quickly.
Squillaci then went close with a good header from an Arteta free-kick on the quarter-hour, while the lively Ramsey was narrowly wide with a great shot moments later after a good run.
But Leeds looked to have survived the initial Gunners onslaught, with loanee Andros Townsend starting to look dangerous for the visitors, but the Londoners were still dominant. However, Vayrynen could have had a penalty when he went over Song’s outstretched leg in the Arsenal box and Becchio then went close with a volley from 12 yards.
Arsenal’s lengthy injury list got even longer when they lost Coquelin on the half hour with what looked like a hamstring tear.
Although the Gunners were enjoying the lion’s share of possession, the home fans were becoming increasingly disgruntled with their team’s lack of a cutting edge and the calls for Henry to come on were becoming louder and louder as the half-time whistle approached.
Arsenal upped the tempo at the beginning of the second half and put the Yorkshire side under a sustained spell of pressure. Leeds defended well, with plenty of players behind the ball, but then struggled to get out of their own half when the Gunners took one pass too many. At least they were making Andy Lonergan work in the Leeds goal, with first Arteta and then Chamberlain drawing saves.
The Emirates Stadium erupted with the introduction of Henry for Chamakh on 68 minutes, with Walcott also entering the fray in place of Chamberlain. The impact was immediate as Arsenal raised their game and the inevitable happened ten minutes later as Henry latched on to Song through ball and drilled a low shot past Lonergan to put the Londoners through to the fourth round and a home clash with Aston Villa.