Arsenal 3 - 0 West Ham United

	The rampant Sylvain Wiltord scores (SteveBarden/Allsport)

Yorke, of course, struck three times in 22 minutes during Manchester United's 6-1 humiliation of Arsene Wenger's side last weekend. But on Saturday the Gunners found a finisher of equal potency as Sylvain Wiltord completed his treble by the 39th minute.

Harsh critics may rate Wiltord's work tardy in comparison, but the Frenchman had still rendered West Ham's afternoon little more than an academic exercise well before the interval.

The striker put on an exhibition of electric finishing as Hammers defender Stuart Pearce, named Premiership Player of the Month the day before, aged before our eyes. Or, at least, looked every one of his 38 years.

Pearce contributed to the first goal in the sixth minute when he sprayed the ball into the path of the lurking Robert Pires.

Winger Pires was immediately alert to Wiltord's streaking run into space and his compatriot scored with an angled, right-foot shot which evaded goalkeeper Shaka Hislop's despairing dive.

Wiltord struck again seven minutes later, controlling Dixon's long pass on his chest inside the West Ham area. Like a conjuror, he juggled his way past Igor Stimac and Pearce before this time shooting with his left foot.

The result was the same, with the ball once more thundering into the left-hand corner of the West Ham net. Fredrik Ljungberg was the architect of Wiltord's hat-trick goal, finding another hole in the West Ham defence with a measured pass six minutes before the break.

With breathtaking pace, Wiltord broke clear and beat the advancing goalkeeper with a clipped shot from the outside of his right boot.

The destroyer-in-chief was removed from the game after an hour - his mission accomplished - although Wiltord unsurprisingly looked a little disgruntled to make way for Thierry Henry.

Arsenal can now move optimistically towards two critical games in the coming week, appreciative that they have strengthened their chances of competing in the Champions League again next season.

On Tuesday they could advance into the last eight of Europe's elite club competition if they beat Spartak Moscow at Highbury and Bayern Munich defeat Lyon in France.

Then, on Saturday, they contest a place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup against either Blackburn Rovers or Bolton Wanderers, who replay in midweek.

Crisis, what crisis? West Ham manager Harry Redknapp might have feared this was the wrong afternoon to meet wounded Arsenal, so completely were they dismantled at Old Trafford.

He was not mistaken. Without Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Paolo Di Canio and Frederic Kanoute - all doubtless present and correct when West Ham confront Tottenham in the FA Cup quarter-final next Sunday - Redknapp simply had to grin and bear it.

Wenger had pledged beforehand that his side would respond positively, passionately, to what he described as 'a feeble defensive performance' against United last Sunday.

His cause was assisted by the return of the invaluable Tony Adams and Lee Dixon, restoring 50 per cent of Arsenal's fabled back four following that dreadful capitulation to United.

Davor Suker and Kaba Diawara, both formerly with Arsenal, never posed a hint of trouble in West Ham shirts.

For Nigel Winterburn, given the West Ham captaincy on his return to Highbury and granted a rousing ovation for his years of loyal service in red and white, it was a homecoming to forget.

Wiltord's belligerent display saw to that.