JUNINHO gave Middlesbrough the scent of a first major trophy and ended manager Steve McClaren's Arsenal hoodoo at Highbury last night.

Against a weakened Gunners side, Boro edged ahead in this Carling Cup semi-final, first leg to make a first-ever trip to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium at the end of next month a real possibility.

This was McClaren's first win in management over Arsene Wenger's Arsenal in eight attempts after seven straight defeats - and he owed it all to Juninho.

The ubiquitous Brazilian, who admitted he was "very upset'' when dropped by McClaren after Boro managed only one point from their opening five games this season, underlined his value to the club with his best performance this term.

The player they call "The Little Fella'' rose to the big occasion to grab his sixth goal of the season in the 53rd minute.

Left-back Franck Queudrue, the hero of Boro's quarter-final shoot-out victory across North London at Tottenham last month, made a crucial challenge to beat Martin Keown just inside the box.

The ball broke to Gaizka Mendieta, back in Boro's starting line-up after making a full recovery from a virus, and the Spaniard showed wonderful awareness to find Juninho unmarked on the right.

And the fans' favourite was coolness personified as he fired into the far corner of the net with unerring accuracy.

Early in the game he had been desperately unlucky when he exchanged passes with George Boateng before emerging inside the box to hit an angled shot which smacked against the foot of the far post and rebounded kindly straight into the arms of keeper Graham Stack.

The luck evened itself out when Ray Parlour's ball struck Juninho on the hand inside the box eight minutes from time.

But Boro should have doubled their lead five minutes later when Stuart Parnaby crossed from the right and fellow substitute Jospeh Job fired over at the near post.

This was the first meeting of three between the sides in eight days and second of four in 18 - Boro are back here on Saturday in the fourth round of the FA Cup and the second leg of this tie is at the Riverside a week tonight.

McClaren decided to risk Ugo Ehiogu, despite the groin problem the centre-back suffered in the 4-1 Premiership defeat here ten days earlier, and which forced him to miss Saturday's shambolic 3-3 draw with Leicester at the Riverside.

But the Boro boss's options at the back were limited, with skipper Gareth Southgate and Colin Cooper both out with hamstring injuries.

It was hardly a force majeure that brought about Frenchman Wenger's selection.

The need to rest a weary Thierry Henry and the likes of Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires, meant the Arsenal side showed nine changes from the one that started the previous encounter with Boro, although Parlour, Edu and Kanu, who all appeared as substitutes in that game, lined up at kick-off last night.

Arsenal dominated possession in the early stages, but it was Boro who mounted the first attack when the recalled Doriva robbed fellow Brazilian Gilberto.

The samba link was completed when Juninho gathered the loose ball and tried to pick out the unmarked Massimo Maccarone on the right, but Pacal Cygan read the situation perfectly to cut out the pass.

Gilberto required lengthy treatment before resuming, but Arsenal got into their stride when full-back Kolo Toure broke from wide on the right to cut inside and drive only narrowly past the far post.

Danny Mills' every touch was greeted with a chorus of boos from a home crowd who will forever resent his attempt to unsettle Henry just before the Arsenal striker scored a penalty in the League game here.

Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, whose failure to deal with a less-than-astute backpass from Andrew Davies led to Leicester's third goal last weekend, looked far from assured when Ehiogu played the ball back.

Schwarzer's first touch let him down, but he recovered quickly to clear as Kanu closed in menacingly.

Juninho was then rightly cautioned by referee Steve Dunn for pulling the shirt of Edu as the Gunners midfielder gave him the slip on halfway.

But there was no doubting Juninho's determination in his personal quest to bring Teesside the silverware that eluded him in the Coca-Cola Cup and FA Cup in his first spell with Boro seven years ago.

Two minutes after he had hit the woodwork, an effort from Maccarone - recalled after scoring two goals in as many games as a substitute - struck the hand of Keown inside the box as it flew wide, but Boro had to be content with a corner.

Winger David Bentley, a 19-year-old stand-in for Pires, ballooned the ball over from a great position after Kanu had dragged the ball across from the right.

And then Kanu himself wasted a fine opening five minutes before half-time when he skewed his finish horribly wide from the edge of the area after cutting in cleverly.

Juninho was harrying and chasing again from the first moment of the second period and when he beat Gilberto, Stack had to be at his best to push away a cunning 18-yard curler from the Brazilian.

The goal was nothing more than he deserved and Boro were inspired. Maccarone unleashed an angled shot ten minutes later and Stack did well to save.

But Keown headed over for Arsenal from Bentley's delivery and the youngster then forced a stop from Schwarzer in a nail-biting climax.

l McClaren said: "I'm satisfied, but the job is only half-done. We are close to the final but still a million miles away!

"It was important for us to show people what Middlesbrough are all about and we have done that.

"It was a good goal from Juninho and he did very well. It was a good counter attack for the goal and that helped us to get some belief in ourselves early in the second-half.

"I thought we lacked belief a little in the opening period. A single goal won it and I am happy with that.'