STEVE McCLAREN'S crusade to lead Middlesbrough to an elusive first major trophy was cruelly crushed at Old Trafford.

Fate conspired against plucky Boro when England World Cup hopeful Ugo Ehiogu hobbled off with a hamstring injury after half an hour to be replaced by Gianluca Festa.

The Sardinian centre-back, something of a hero here five years ago when he gave Boro a 3-2 lead in extra-time as they fought out an unforgettable six-goal semi-final thriller with Chesterfield, was the villain of the piece on this occasion.

Premiership leaders Arsenal, whose push for the third League and Cup double in their history is now very much on track, won a corner six minutes before the break.

Thierry Henry, their 31-goal leading scorer, swung over the left-wing flag-kick and when the unfortunate Festa challenged Sol Campbell, he only succeeded in slicing the ball into his own net off his right shin.

For Festa, who admits he faces an uncertain future under the McClaren regime, it was a heartbreaking moment in a season of shame which has seen him sent off twice - the first time for spitting in the face of Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips.

Like his predecessor Bryan Robson, who led Boro to a 1997 final defeat by Chelsea as well as Coca-Cola final losses to Leicester in the same year and the Stamford Bridge club again a season later, manager McClaren has been frustrated in his quest for the silverware the whole of Teesside craves.

Instead the England coach must content himself with the fact that his side have secured their Premiership status in his first season in charge and performed bravely with their ranks seriously depleted, against a team laying a cogent claim to be the best in the country.

Denied the trenchant influence of suspended skipper Paul Ince, and the inspirational skills of cup-tied playmaker Benito Carbone, the odds were always going to be stacked against Boro.

Their problems were compounded by the absence of three more key players - midfielder Jonathan Greening with a calf strain, and strikers Noel Whelan and Szilard Nemeth because of respective hamstring and ankle injuries.

So threadbare was the Boro squad that McClaren was forced to hand French midfielder Michael Debeve his first start since his recent arrival from Lens on a short-term deal.

In fact, Debeve's only senior Boro appearance before yesterday had been as a substitute in the 3-0 eclipse of Everton at the Riverside Stadium in the last round.

But the Teessiders' spirits had been lifted when leading scorer Alen Boksic was declared fit after missing the previous two matches with a groin injury.

Boksic was partnered in attack by Dean Windass and the burly frontman soon left Patrick Vieira in no doubt that Robbie Mustoe meant what he said when he warned Boro would "get stuck into'' Arsenal's skipper and midfield driving force.

The Frenchman was writhing in agony after a crude-looking challenge by Windass, and referee David Elleray - who officiated so controversially here in the Chesterfield game when he denied the Spireites a clear goal as they led 2-1 - could not be faulted this time in producing a yellow card.

Vieira moved gingerly after treatment, while Windass continued to have a major say.

After Sylvain Wiltord had driven wide from an Henry cross, and the latter had shot straight at goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer when Boro failed to clear a corner, Windass tested the last line of the Gunners' defence.

Livewire Luke Wilkshire found Windass and keeper Richard Wright was forced to make a superlative one-handed reflex save to beat away a stinging 20-yard effort.

Henry showed his menace when he weaved his way into a shooting position before hitting a 25-yarder which Schwarzer gathered.

But Boro made an enterprising start and there was an uncharacteristic vulnerability about the Arsenal defence which the Teessiders were keen to exploit.

Australian midfield prospect Wilkshire exuded verve and vitality and when he chipped a neat ball through to Boksic, the Gunners were at panic stations. Boksic held the ball up before laying it off to debutant Debeve, whose 20-yard shot brought a more comfortable save from Wright.

Boro's best chance, however, fell to the willing Wilkshire in the 23rd minute.

Boksic burst into the penalty area before being halted by a timely tackle from Campbell.

And when the ball broke to Wilkshire, the rookie could only sweep his shot into the side-netting at the near post.

It was to prove a costly miss as Arsenal found another gear and when Wiltord aimed a right-wing ball to the near upright, Henry would surely have scored had he made any sort of connection.

Schwarzer then raced to the edge of his box to hack away from Henry, before both sides had to make changes at identical times when Ehiogu limped off and Oleg Luzhny went the same way for Arsenal.

For Boro, the switch was to have dire consequences, and they could have been further behind immediately after the break.

Henry glided down the left before squaring the ball to the hitherto anonymous Dennis Bergkamp, whose curling shot from around 25 yards only narrowly cleared the bar.

And the game ought to have been as good as over in the 55th minute when Boro left-back Franck Queudrue chested Henry's centre straight to the unmarked Wiltord, who somehow fired over with only Schwarzer to beat.

The Gunners had to reshuffle their defence when centre-back Campbell - tipped to take over the England captaincy if broken-foot victim David Beckham fails to make the World Cup - was carried off on the hour to become the game's third casualty.

With Lee Dixon, the only defender on the Arsenal bench, having replaced Luzhny, manager Arsene Wenger had little option but to switch Vieira to an emergency role at the back.

But it was Dixon who came to Arsenal's rescue within moments of Campbell's exit, the veteran right-back knocking a Windass header off the line.

But the Gunners had chances to kill off Boro's spirited challenge, Henry mis-controlling and fluffing in front of goal after substitute Ray Parlour, who came on for Campbell, had delivered the perfect cross-goal ball.

Wiltord produced a similar centre for Bergkamp, but it was just out of the Dutchman's reach and Schwarzer bravely claimed the ball.

But Boro might have levelled in the 73rd minute when Allan Johnston crossed from the left and Boksic just couldn't gain sufficient purchase on his header to test Wright.

And the infuriated Windass was adamant he should have been awarded a penalty 13 minutes from the end after going down under a challenge from Vieira.

The incident caused a flare-up between them, and Mr Elleray had to step in and stamp out a feud which had been running from the moment Windass felled Vieira early in the game.