Mansfield 1-2 Arsenal: Gunners survive scare to achieve FA Cup quarter-finals | Football

Arsenal get the job done. Just.

Eze lashes Arsenal back into the lead! Just minutes after coming off the bench, he takes a neat touch into the box before smashing one into the highest corner.

Mansfield are level! What a moment for the hosts. Arsenal are far too casual on the back and Salmon’s backpass leaves Mosquera in trouble. Evans twists and turns around him and fires low and hard under Kepa to equalise!

The Gunners have the lead on the break.

It’s been a wretched first-half from Arsenal, but they’ve the lead just before half-time! Roberts is forced into a good save, pushing the ball wide where Martinelli collects. He looks up and threads the ball back across goal where Madueke is on the spot to comb it home.

11 mins | A nervy few moments for Arsenal here!  Tyler Roberts is causing problems, letting fly with a good effort from range that just whizzes past Kepa’s post.

‘It’s a giant day and he’s been out for a number of weeks as well. Real hunger to indicate what he’s able to and he has a very good environment around him.’

With Max Dowman and Marli Salmon within the side, Arsenal develop into the primary Premier League side to start out a competitive game with two players aged 16 or under in any competition.

Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Gabriel Magalhaes don’t even make the bench today – it’s a correct rest for the trio with William Saliba also absent after his recent ankle issue.

Cristhian Mosquera and Eberechi Eze are the one players to maintain their places within the side from Wednesday’s win over Brighton.

Kepa, Salmon, Mosquera, Calafiori, Norgaard, Havertz, Trossard, Madueke, Dowman, Martinelli, Jesus.

Subs: Setford, Hincapie, Dixon, Timber, Ibrahim, Eze, Saka, Gyökeres, Harriman-Annous.

Two 16-year-olds within the Gunners starting XI today.

That’s a correct entrance.

Lewis-Skelly has been a bit starved of opportunities this season and Mikel Arteta would have surely handed him a start this afternoon. A suspension nevertheless rules him out having picked up yellow cards in previous rounds against Portsmouth and Wigan.

FA Cup rules state that if a player picks up two yellows cards within the competition as much as and including the quarter-finals, they may receive a one-match suspension.

There might be a possibility for 16-year-old Marli Salmon on the back today. Max Dowman can also be available again after his ankle injury but we suspect he might be saved for a task off the bench given his lengthy layoff.

Predicted XI: Kepa; White, Mosquera, Salmon, Calafiori; Norgaard, Eze, Havertz; Madueke, Jesus, Martinelli

Mikel Arteta has made wholesale changes to his side on this competition this season and we expect more of the identical today.

Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber will certainly be rested with Willian Saliba nursing an ankle injury this week that would keep him out.

Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice are also well overdue a rest with Christian Norgaard and Kai Havertz amongst those that could are available.

TNT Sports 1 have live coverage of the match this afternoon.

After all, we might much slightly you stuck it out with us.

We’re scheduled to get underway at 12:15pm this afternoon.