Mansfield Town vs Arsenal; The FA Cup Fifth Round
Mansfield Town vs Arsenal. The FA Cup Fifth Round.
One Call StadiumAttendance9,260.
Mansfield 1-2 Arsenal: Gunners survive FA Cup scare to make quarter-finals and keep quadruple hopes alive
Match report as Arsenal beat Mansfield 2-1 in the FA Cup; Mikel Arteta set the Gunners up in a back three and included two 16-year-olds in his line-up; goals from Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze either side of a Will Evans equaliser was enough for place in Monday's quarter-final draw
Saturday 7 March 2026 16:29, UK
Arsenal survived a major scare against League One Mansfield to progress through to the FA Cup quarter-finals and keep their hopes of a quadruple alive.
Mikel Arteta named a starting XI with two 16 year olds and a shift in formation to three at the back as he opted to rotate his side ahead of a busy run-in.
This nearly proved to be the Gunners' downfall though, as they had to overcome a period of sustained pressure from Nigel Clough's side in order to make it through to the last eight of the competition.
The Premier League leaders looked unsettled from the get-go by both the condition of the pitch and their own set-up as they struggled to adapt to their 3-4-3 formation. It led to the Stags looking the most likely to take the initiative, as they managed eight efforts on goal to Arsenal's three after the opening quarter of an hour.
However, an injury to Leandro Trossard offered Arteta a chance to switch to a more natural back four shape and allowed his side to get into second gear.
As a result, Noni Madueke, who had been holding back as a makeshift right wing-back before the tweak, fired home splendidly close to half-time to give the heavy favourites the breakthrough.
Any thoughts that this would lead to one-way traffic in the second-half were quickly eradicated, however. Marli Salmon, 16, gifted possession to substitute Will Evans who breezed past Cristhian Mosquera and slotted home five minutes after the break to send the One Call Stadium into raptures.
It seemed as though momentum was with the hosts as they pushed for an unlikely second. Despite the likes of the other 16-year-old on the pitch in Max Dowman starring at the other end of the pitch, Arteta was forced to flex his muscles to get his side back ahead.
Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka were sent on from the bench, and it was the former who unleashed a rocket past Liam Roberts to put the Gunners ahead.
Roberts would also have to be on hand to produce a brilliant save with his feet to deny Saka from getting in on the act.
The valiant effort from the side 59 places worse off in the football pyramid proved to come to nothing, as the Premier League leaders held on despite late sustained late pressure to book their place in the quarter-final draw on Monday night.
Arteta: Mansfield made it difficult for Arsenal
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to TNT Sports:
"It was a proper FA Cup game. Credit to Mansfield, the stadium, the atmosphere, the fans created a bit of banter. Great for them to keep pushing the team, They made it really difficult for us.
"You have to be much more ruthless in front of goal, we had four or five big open chances that we didn't convert. Then the margin is smaller and you give the opponent hope. We also made a mistake for the goal.
"But we had two 16-year-olds in the starting line-up, I don't think that's ever happened.
"Everybody feels involved. We have the desire that game by game we are closer to the things we can achieve."
Clough: We made a proper cup tie of it
Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough to TNT Sports:
"I thought the effort the players gave was absolutely incredible. We wanted to make it a proper cup tie and make it uncomfortable for Arsenal. I thought we did that.
"We're very proud. We said to the lads, if we do concede - don't concede a second one. Then it becomes a bit too easy. That didn't happen today.
"We could have done it. But I think everyone else enjoyed it."
'One day I'll look back and enjoy the moment'
Mansfield Town goalscorer Will Evans to TNT Sports:
"I was gutted to not start the game, and any chance I got I had to prove a point. Not just to myself. The ball broke to me, the defender didn't press me. The gaffer says low and hard and thankfully it went in.
"Football is think and fast, onto the next game. We go Tuesday-Saturday between now and the rest of the season. One day I'll go through my old goals and enjoy the moment. As much as today is good, we have to shift our focus to Tuesday now."
