FA Cup: Arsenal Spank Lincoln City
Non-league Lincoln City’s astonishing run in the FA Cup came to an end as Arsenal remain on course for a 13th title by reaching the semi-finals.
Lincoln, 88 places below their Premier League opponents, held their own for much of the first half and even went close to scoring when Petr Cech saved Nathan Arnold’s curled effort.
However, Theo Walcott’s deflected strike gave the Gunners the lead on the stroke of half-time and Olivier Giroud put the hosts in control with a clinical strike just after the break.
Lincoln’s dreams of a fight back were dashed when Luke Waterfall scored an own goal, turning in Kieran Gibbs’ cross.
Alexis Sanchez added a brilliant fourth, expertly placing the ball beyond Lincoln goalkeeper Paul Farman’s reach, before Aaron Ramsey completed the win when he tapped in from Sanchez’s cross.
It was ultimately a routine victory for Arsenal and perhaps eased some of the pressure on Arsene Wenger, who is bidding for his seventh FA Cup triumph as Gunners boss.
A protest was held before the game by around 200 fans urging the club to not give the 67-year-old a new contract when his current deal expires this summer.
Almost 9,000 Lincoln fans travelled to London for the game
Lincoln have undoubtedly been the story of this season’s FA Cup. They came through eight games, beating Premier League Burnley and Championship high fliers Brighton along the way to become the first non-league side to reach the quarter-finals of the competition in 103 years.
Against an Arsenal side that had reached the semi-finals 10 times previous, few would normally have given Lincoln a chance.
But a run of just two wins in their last seven games, coupled with the discontent felt by some Arsenal fans towards Arsene Wenger, gave the minnows reason to believe an upset could be achievable.
The club’s fans clearly felt that to be the case as they travelled in huge numbers to the Emirates, and for large periods of the first half their voices were the only ones that could be heard.
On the pitch, Lincoln were impressive, sticking to a game plan that limited Arsenal to only one real chance in the first half half hour, when Walcott hit the post.
There was a momentary silence around the ground when Lincoln threatened to snatch the unlikeliest of leads as Arnold’s smart footwork left Laurent Koscielny on the floor, and he took aim at the far corner – but Cech managed to stretch across to make the save.
A goalless draw at half-time would have been a deserved reward for their performance, but Walcott’s strike appeared to knock their confidence and in the second half it looked every bit the tie involving a Premier League side and a team four divisions below them.
The FA Cup dream may be over for Lincoln but they could yet walk out at Wembley this season. They are in the semi-finals of the FA Trophy and now switch attention to their first-leg tie at York on Tuesday.
A group of Arsenal fans chanted for Arsene Wenger to step down before the game
Arsenal could still finish the season with silverware, but success in the FA Cup is no longer enough for a sizeable number of Gunners fans.
They are out of the Champions League and a top-four finish is far from guaranteed as they currently sit fifth, two points behind Liverpool.
Those fans who feel Wenger has taken the side as far as they can go made their feelings known before the game with a protest – their second in a week after around 200 supporters expressed their frustration before the Champions League last-16 second leg tie with Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
But there was support for Wenger inside the ground as some fans held ‘In Wenger we trust’ banners, while on the pitch his players stepped up after a slow start.
Mesut Ozil was particularly influential after his 27th minute introduction and Alexis Sanchez, whose long-term future at the Emirates is reportedly in doubt, impressed with a fine goal and an assist.
