Arsenal beat Lincoln City 5-0 in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, March 11. Here are all the highlights from the match.
This was a tougher day for Arsenal than their emphatic FA Cup quarterfinal win against Lincoln City might suggest. The match was preceded by increased calls for manager Arsene Wenger to leave the club, this time in the form of an anti-Wenger protest march.
Wenger, probably sensing the importance of a win given the turmoil surrounding the club, picked a strong starting XI to face the non-league Imps, including Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott.
The Gunners dominated the ball in the first half, but struggled to break Lincoln down. But for a couple of decent long range efforts from Walcott and Aaron Ramsey, they barely tested the visitors. The breakthrough eventually came via a big slice of luck, when Walcott saw a close range effort take a big deflection before nestling in the bottom corner.
The goal seemed to settle Arsenal’s nerves, and they dominated the second half. Olivier Giroud doubled their lead in the 53rd minute after some neat passing in the box, before Keiran Gibbs forced an own goal off Lincoln captain Luke Waterfall five minutes later.
Sanchez got in on the act after 70 minutes, beating three Lincoln players before curling into the bottom corner. When Ramsey walked the ball into the net to make it five in the 75th, Lincoln had long since given up. It was an excellent run from the non-league side, but they were comfortably outclassed.
Related Story: 25 best club soccer teams of all time
Highlights
As for Arsenal, the result will do little to quell the unrest at the club. There a bigger challenges ahead, not least the battle for the Premier League top four and what will likely be a top flight opponent in the semifinal of this competition. How the Gunners respond to those challenges will likely determine the future of their most successful manager.