ARSENAL wide-boy Freddie Ljungberg believes Sylvain Wiltord could turn out to be the ace up Arsene Wenger's sleeve as the Gunners prepare for an FA Cup quarter final showdown with Rovers tomorrow.

The former Bordeaux striker has taken time to settle in at Highbury following his big-money move from France in the summer.

But now the livewire frontman has started to gell with fellow countryman Thierry Henry in a potentially devastating strike-partnership.

And he's becoming a key man for Wenger, having scored in every round of the FA Cup so far with five goals in just three games.

"I think he has started to show what a class striker he is," said Ljungberg.

"It was difficult for him coming to the Premiership, because it's a difficult league to adapt to.

"But he is a great goalscorer, that is the main part of his game. He has devastating pace and he uses it very well."

The pacey striker first sprang to prominence with Bordeaux where he scored 55 goals in 134 appearances, including 22 in 33 games during their championship winning team of 1999.

But he's best remembered for scoring France's equaliser in their Euro 2000 final victory over Italy. And his partnership with Henry up front will play a large part in deciding whether the Gunners finish the season with any silverware or not, with a Champions' League quarter final place up for grabs next week when they travel to Bayern Munich's Olympic Stadium just days after their clash with Rovers.

Henry kept them on target for a possible Cup double with another electric goal against Spartak on Tuesday night.

But the former Juventus star bizarrely believes he is struggling to hit top form at the moment.

"I shouldn't have been on the pitch I was so bad," said Henry.

"I didn't deserve to be there. I felt guilty.

"Sometimes you have to be honest with yourself and I wasn't playing well.

"I should have gone off but, when I didn't, I wanted to show the manager he was right."

That he did with a stunning strike which later had Wenger purring "the pace was the greatest I have ever seen here, the speed was just madness."

And his team-mate Ljungberg insists more of the same is required between now and the end of the season if the Gunners are to lift a major honour for the first time since the Double.

"With Manchester United out, the FA Cup is very important to us. There's now a great opportunity to win the Cup," said the Swede.

"The league is important and so is the Champions League, but to win some silverware this season has got to be our goal."