By OLIVER HOLT ( The Times ).

ARSENAL turned the FA Charity Shield into a giant house-warming party yesterday as they settled comfortably into the venue that will house their Champions' League ties by embarrassing their invited guests, Manchester United, and adding another Wembley triumph to their FA Cup Final victory here last May.

Quite what the significance of their 3-0 win over Alex Ferguson's side holds is difficult to judge. In the second half, in particular, United appeared to be playing with the European Cup qualifying round tie against LKS Lodz on Wednesday in mind, conserving their energy, withdrawing their leading players from the fray en masse.

But the emphatic nature of Arsenal's win, against the team that they overhauled so dramatically in the league last season, can only leave them in good heart as they prepare to open the defence of their FA Carling Premiership title against Nottingham Forest a week today and United harbouring doubts about their ability to wrest the trophy back.

Both teams have been engaged in fruitless searches for a new striker over the summer and, on this showing, United's need appears to be the more pressing. Andy Cole hardly mustered a shot and the suspicion is returning that United will not be able to conquer Europe with him leading the line.

Things will improve when Roy Keane gets closer to full fitness but, if nothing else, the game yesterday proved that United have more work to do than Arsenal to ready themselves for the marathon ahead. Ferguson, the United manager, must also be concerned lest David Beckham, who had a quiet, subdued match, drowns amid the cacophony of moronic jeers that greeted his every touch.

"You can learn certain things from the games we played on our pre-season tour of Scandinavia," Ferguson said, "but that was a real match today. I thought it was very competitive and that we matched them for much of the first half."

Those of us, though, who had imagined that Arsenal might have felt sluggish under the accumulated weight of the laurel wreaths that have been hung round their necks, that their French World Cup winners, Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira, in particular, might have been sated with honours, were mistaken.

They were hungrier than United from the start, even though Keane seemed intent on using the first 20 minutes to prove that his injured knee could withstand even the most outrageous of lunges and the most shuddering tackles. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes were neat and composed as usual but, as the half wore on, Arsenal emerged the stronger, more assured side.

Marc Overmars, who accelerates into Wembley's wide and welcoming acres like a sports car hitting the open road, and Nicolas Anelka, whose speed is just as explosive, combined to ensure that Jaap Stam, the world's most expensive defender, had a thorougly uncomfortable debut alongside Ronnie Johnsen at the heart of the United back four. The Dutchman was culpable for the third goal, scored at pace by Anelka in the 72nd minute.

By then Arsenal were coasting, confident in their superiority. They had ridden their luck in the first 20 minutes, when United were at their best. Beckham played one delightful crossfield pass to Giggs that he killed on his instep and clipped into Scholes, who was denied by Seaman's smothering save.

Thereafter, Arsenal were rarely threatened and took the lead in the 33rd minute. Vieira chipped a delicate pass over the United defence to Bergkamp, who ran into the area and backheeled the ball to Anelka. Johnsen seemed to have dispossessed him but Anelka blocked his clearance and, when the ball broke to Overmars, he drove it high into the net beyond Schmeichel.

Both Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, agreed that that goal was vital, that it forced United to chase the game in the heat of mid-afternoon and contributed to them wilting in the sun. As they pressed forward in search of an equaliser, they became ever more susceptible to the incursions of Overmars and it was from one of these that Arsenal scored their second goal.

The Dutchman, who made his reputation in this country by outpacing Des Walker at Wembley, ran at Gary Neville. Neville slipped as he backtracked, allowing Overmars to cut inside and slip the ball to Anelka. Anelka helped it on to Wreh, who had come on for Bergkamp, and although Schmeichel blocked his first shot, the rebound fell kindly for the Liberian, who scored at the second attempt.

That was the signal for a spate of substitutions to disfigure the match, but they did little to alter its course. Anelka finished things off for Arsenal, running on to a pass from Parlour, evading Stam and shooting left-footed past Schmeichel.

"Winning things is a good habit," Wenger said. "I don't think winning today will help us to beat Manchester United in the league, but at least the players know where they stand a bit more now. Psychologically, it was important for us to win at Wembley so we feel happy here during the Champions' League."

The preliminaries are over now, at least. The real thing is upon us.

ARSENAL (4-4-2): D Seaman - L Dixon, A Adams (sub: S Bould, 79min), M Keown, N Winterburn - R Parlour, P Vieira (sub: G Grimandi, 83), E Petit (sub: L Boa Morte, 73), M Overmars (sub: S Hughes, 67) - D Bergkamp (sub: C Wreh, 46), N Anelka.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-1-1): P Schmeichel - G Neville, J Stam, R Johnsen, D Irwin - D Beckham, R Keane (sub: H Berg, 76), N Butt (sub: O G Solskjaer, 53), R Giggs (sub: J Cruyff, 69) - P Scholes (sub: P Neville, 69) - A Cole (sub: E Sheringham, 69).

Referee: G Poll.