It was a miserable afternoon that saw Alan Curbishley's side dismantled by an Arsenal side that was virtually unplayable.
Arsenal took the lead after a sweeping move. For all the home side's flair and ball retention, Charlton were at times guilty of sacrificing possession far too easily - and it was from another mistake that Arsenal doubled their lead. And there was no respite for the visitors as the north Londoners went 3-0 up.
Alan Curbishley: "It was a typical performance from us here over recent seasons."
"I changed my side to put as much pace as I could against them but we just couldn't get near them. When the second goal went in it was panic stations for us. But when you are on the rack like that the only crumb of comfort I can take is that we kept it down to three."
"Players out there like Dennis Rommedahl and Jason Euell needed games. The team I sent out today we've worked with all week, and worked very hard to do something. I'm very disappointed because I expected more of a performance today but we've got off to a poor start and the first ten minutes set the tone for the game."
Bryan Hughes: "We just couldn't get any momentum going today - maybe people were trying to keep a bit in the tank for Thursday."
Arsene Wenger (AFC): "I never really felt that Charlton had a period that they could come back."
Source: Official sites
Charlton starting line-up: Jonathan Spector and Jason Euell both started so Powell and Holland dropped to the bench. Dennis Rommedahl returned and went straight into the side, Gonzalo Sorondo was also named among the substitutes, so Ambrose and Bothroyd were both left out.