Ebelesi Eze guided Arsenal to the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, maintaining the club’s aim of winning four trophies this season.
Eze came off the bench and fired a powerful shot into the top corner, repelling a challenge from Third Division Mansfield and sealing a 2-1 win at Field Mill.
premier league Leaders Arsenal have also reached the Champions League round of 16 and the English League Cup final. However, they withstood the tough challenge of a Mansfield team that is ranked at the bottom of League 1, and were able to equalize in the second half thanks to the efforts of Will Evans.
Mansfield manager Nigel Clough told TNT Sports: “We wanted to draw this game in the cup and make it a tough game for Arsenal and I thought we did that.”
In the 41st minute, Noni Maduke curled his first shot into the top corner to give Arsenal the lead. However, five minutes into the second half, substitute Evans sent the home crowd into a frenzy when he picked up a loose pass from Marli Salmon and fired a low shot past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
“I was disappointed not to start the game,” Evans said. “If I had a chance today, I knew I had to prove a point, not just to the team, but to myself.”
Eze was on the field for just four minutes when he scored the winning goal in the 66th minute, sending Arsenal into the quarter-finals for the first time since they last lifted the cup in 2020.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who named Salmon and Max Daumann, two 16-year-olds in his starting XI, said: “This was a proper FA Cup match and it was all thanks to the atmosphere created by Mansfield, the stadium and the fans.”
Wrexham host Chelsea in the cup matches later on Saturday, while Manchester City face Newcastle.
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James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
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