FA Cup Fifth round/Arsenal 1 Sheffield Utd 1: With one defeat in their last 20 ties in the world's most venerable knockout competition, Arsenal's respect for the trophy has never been in doubt. This year, though, the FA Cup had to give.

Arsene Wenger rates his side's failure to overcome Chelsea in the semi-final stage of last season's Champions League as his "biggest regret"; defeat against Bayern Munich tomorrow would be even more damaging.

Although Wenger named only five of his usual first-team squad for this match, he did not escape it with his equanimity completely intact. Arsenal will appeal against Dennis Bergkamp's dismissal and expected three-match ban for allegedly pushing Danny Cullip in the face.

However, English Football Association charges could also ensue for Jose Antonio Reyes, who appeared to slap the Sheffield United defender in the same incident, and Cesc Fabregas for a brutal lunge at Nick Montgomery. Fabregas was booked, but there is precedent for such challenges to be further punished with a violent-conduct charge.

Wenger could not have presaged such turmoil when he chose to reduce the exposure of his senior players. Arsenal's manager did so having paid the price for fixture congestion last April; the Chelsea nemesis followed his use, little more than 72 hours previously, of almost the entire available first team in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United. Clearly the Frenchman feels history had to be heeded.

"We were maybe a little bit too hungry with the FA Cup, the Champions League and the championship last season," said Wenger. "I should maybe have dropped the FA Cup."

So for this tie, against Championship opposition, he fielded what was almost an Arsenal under-21 side. Bergkamp's exit further reduced the average age.

Wenger knows that an early exit from the Champions League would hurt more than his club's pride. They qualified as champions and the European Cup proffers for Arsenal the lion's share of what is the tournament's biggest pool of broadcasting income. The Emirates Stadium debt is set to be about £240 million in two years, so the more lucrative his run in the current Champions League campaign, the more cash Wenger will have to spend in the summer.

"We have that so deep in us, wanting to do well in the Champions League, that even if we were top of the league I don't think it would take anything away from the Champions League motivation," Wenger said. "I am sure there is a deep motivation inside everybody at the club. All the international players had played in midweek last week and I just felt they gave their best against Crystal Palace and they needed a breather. It is good for them sometimes to have a mental breather more than a physical breather."

Wenger has done his best to put percentages in his favour and, though Cullip headed the ball into Arsenal's net shortly after Bergkamp's sending-off - a goal that was inexplicably disallowed - the Frenchman's selection was justified.

Robert Pires rose from the bench in the second half to score and it was only the inexperience of the centre back Philippe Senderos, whose hands-up leap in the box conceded a 90th-minute penalty, that cost Arsenal victory.

Wenger's opposing manager, Neil Warnock, ecstatic that Andy Gray's conversion forced a March 1st replay (though he expects to lose it), certainly issued no criticism for Arsenal's personnel. "I love Wenger," he said. "I've looked at what he's done. He gets criticised because they're not flying away, but Chelsea have spent £100 million and he's hardly spent a penny. Birmingham have spent more than him.

"He's got young lads who are going to be quality over the next few years, he's got a club that's going to a stadium that's second to none. It must be disappointing to be third in the Premiership and in the quarter-final of the Cup. Or nearly."