Arsenal took care of business against League One Mansfield Town to move onto the FA Cup Quarterfinals. The match was only slightly less sloppy than the pitch itself, which proved quite the equalizing factor in the game. The home side were energetic and stubborn but two fantastic shots, the first from Noni Madueke and the second from Ebere Eze, made the difference. There’s not much more to take from the match. Arsenal rotated heavily, rested players that were in serious need of rest, and advanced
to the next round.
Max Dowman stood out, as he seems to always do. The 16-year old seems to always be in the center of the action, on and around the ball. His first instinct is get the ball up the pitch, either dribbling it himself or passing and moving forward to provide a threatening option for his teammate. He was denied his first senior goal a couple of times and had one particularly nice run that “deserved” a goal. Kudos to Mansfield Town keeper Liam Roberts — he kept his side in the game with several high-quality saves.
Gabriel Jesus stood out, too but for the wrong reasons. The Arsenal striker was disconnected from his teammates and seemed to be going through the motions on the pitch. Gabriel Martinelli didn’t have a great game either, but in his case, it was more that his final touch / pass wasn’t coming off. I’m inclined to chalk that up to the poor quality of the pitch and a bit of an off day. Unlike his Brazilian counterpart, the energy and focus was there.
The Mansfield Town goal came from a Marli Salmon mistake, which you’re happy to forgive. The 16-year old defender mishit a pass towards Cristhian Mosquera that turned the ball over. Again, I think the quality of the pitch was mostly to blame. The Spanish CB was caught a bit betwixt and between. He seemed to start to come for the ball then think better of it, making himself second-best on the chase.
Mosquera put in a mixed performance. He’s been so good this season that you might forget he’s just 21-years old, quite young for a CB. Some of his inexperience and lack of polish bled through today. It’s nothing to be concerned about. He’ll learn.
Salmon and Dowman getting the starting nods made Arsenal the first top flight club in the Premier League era to start two 16-year olds in any competition. Dowman also became the club’s youngest FA Cup starter. Matches like this are really important for the youngsters. You could see them learning as the game progressed. They started out trying to pull off passes and skills that probably work for them with the youth sides but won’t cut it against full professionals. They both eliminated those mistakes as the game wore on. Shout out to Jaden Dixon for making his first senior appearance for the club.
Christian Norgaard and Ebere Eze were both quite tidy for Arsenal. Their steadying presence on the ball kept the match from becoming the open, chaotic, end-to-end contest that the home side were trying to make it. Props to Mansfield for that, too. The Premier League clubs might take note of the courage the League One side showed against Arsenal. They were more open and went for it, a refreshing break from the conservative, deep blocks Arsenal routinely see from PL sides.
Noni Madueke had a good game, providing constant threat down his wing.
In a match when some of the guys in Arsenal shirts were teetering on the edge of lacking the proper focus and intensity, Piero Hincapie came on as a first half substitute and was immediately playing at full speed. I don’t think he knows anything else, to be honest. The Ecaudorian replaced Leandro Trossard, who went down with what looked to be a not-too-serious, he just felt something-type niggle. Riccardo Calafiori came off in the second half after going down massaging his upper right leg. Hopefully neither of those guys picked up anything that will keep them out for an extended period.
Bottom line: Arsenal took care of business, rested guys who needed it, and got minutes in the legs where needed for guys like Kai Havertz. The quarterfinal draw is on Monday.
