Much as Wayne Rooney is to early hominid man, this game was a throwback to times past. There the simile ends though, as we witnessed a glorious reminder of the beauty of the FA Cup. The Arsenal, top the league, top of the Champions League, Carabao Cup finalists; going to the north midlands, the very heart of England, to visit a town and a team which have suffered over the years; the locals dreaming of an upset and putting their town and football club back on the map; Gooners, near and far, praying this wouldn’t be York City or Wrexham all over again; the pitch, understandably, way below the standard we’re used to on account of the constant rain the UK has suffered for nigh on 2 months. At the same time, it was still considerably better than some of the mud baths we were used to seeing until the early 90’s, a credit to the club and ground staff. Baseball Ground, anyone? The 12.15 kick off was something of a shock to the system, although I imagine the farther flung fans, east and west, appreciated a half reasonable K.O. time for once. And it gave travelling fans time to get home in time to watch England play in Rome in the 6 Nations. Perhaps the lucky ones were held up on the M1!
Part by choice, part forced through a mixture of suspension and attrition, Mikel selected an interesting team for the game.
Kepa
Salmon Mosquera Calafiori
Madueke Dowman Nørgaard Trossard Martinelli
Havertz
Jesùs
is the way I would describe it, although out of possession Nørgaard would slot in as centre back. I await the keener eyed in our community upbraiding my tactical naivety. From the start Mansfield, under Nigel Clough – scion of the great Brian – showed that they were up for the match both physically and in terms of wanting to play football. No low block for them! I would suggest that the referee allowed a little too much physicality early on and ought to have made the first booking of a Mansfield player rather earlier than the 60th minute.
After 5 minutes, the Mansfield keeper, who otherwise was excellent, made a relatively unforced error, while trying to play out from the back, by attempting to pass centrally to one of his players. Dowman, quick of mind and fleet of foot, saw his opportunity and intercepted. He pushed forward showing immaculate control – another theme of his day – and got off a shot which the keeper saved with his feet. Just a little lift on the shot and it was a goal.
Unperturbed by this, Mansfield continued to play and fashioned an opportunity on the left-hand side when Oates rather too easily shook off Mosquera and crossed into the middle where eventually Kepa made a decent stop. Mansfield were not here to be sacrificial victims was the message. There were some chances following for each side but, in truth, none were too close. The star man continued to be Dowman whose control and ability to shift his weight and the ball were at times, especially on that pitch, preternatural. 16! He’s only 16! It isn’t fair.
On 35 minutes, Trossard went down and clearly told the bench he couldn’t continue. Once again the Injury Gods intervene and not in our favour. Interestingly, Arteta replaced him with Hincapié rather than a more natural replacement such as Eze. This looked very much like going to an orthodox back four, allowing Calafiori the license to roam when we were in possession. As usual, Arteta knew better than your correspondent and 5 minutes later, and, after a curate’s egg of a first half, Madueke put us ahead after his initial shot from distance came out to Martinelli to the left of the goal who passed back to Madueke on the 18 yard line, who hit a delicious left foot shot swinging away into the Mansfield net. It was a well constructed, very well taken goal.
Mansfield Town 0 – Arsenal 1
Oranges.
Mansfield made a sub at half time taking off Tyler Roberts – formerly of Leeds – for Evans. I thought this a tad harsh on Roberts who had played very well. Maybe he had a strain. At any rate this change gave renewed energy to Mansfield and within 5 minutes of the restart they were back level. Salmon, 16, played a poor pass on the halfway line square to Mosquera. Having seen him play a number of times for the U-21s, this is not a feature of his game and I suggest was in large part down to the quality of the surface. Mosquera was somewhat surprised and chose not to close on the ball, allowing Evans to pick it up, cut inside the now poorly positioned Mosquera and then shoot under Kepa. A well taken goal but one of our own making. The Mansfield faithful raised the roof as they saw the dream of a great cup shock.
Mansfield Town 1 – Arsenal 1
Arsenal regained composure and Dowman, despite, I thought, visibly and quite understandably tiring, continued to impress on the ball. Around the hour mark and in order to close out the game, Arteta yet again made the correct substitutions, taking off both Salmon and the clearly not yet match fit Havertz and replacing them with Timber and Eze. Dowman nearly set up Jesùs but in truth got the final pass just a little wrong.
Then, once again 5 minutes after making substitutions, we went back into the lead when a patient build up on the right led to either a clever touch or a fortuitous one from Nørgaard enabling him to pass to Eze. He still had some work to do but fashioned some space centrally on the edge of the box, and lashed an unstoppable shot into the top right of the goal. He hit it so hard I’m sure it was past the keeper before he left the floor.
Mansfield Town 1 – Arsenal 2
The aforementioned Injury Gods then chose to micturate on our strawberries once again, as Calafiori went down with what looked like a hamstring strain. Hmm! Anyone else sensing a pattern? He was replaced by 19-year-old Jayden Dixon, a new recruit from Stoke. More subs followed with Saka replacing the visibly tired Dowman. I hope he is in the squad for Leverkusen. That was that, really. We saw the game out as you would expect.
Not a great performance but, then with 9 changes and the quality of the pitch, that was perhaps to be expected. Havertz is still playing his way back so can be forgiven a quiet game. Less so Jesùs, who was invisible, and Martinelli who was, quite honestly, terrible. I love watching Martinelli but today I’m afraid he looked well off the pace. It seems as though we will need him on Wednesday night so hopefully that’s a chance to show a more typical performance.
Mansfield ought to be given great credit for making it such a good game and not following the approach often favoured by lower league opposition. Perhaps we oughtn’t to be surprised given the manager was a Clough, as opposed to those of lesser provenance. You know who you are!
On to the quarter finals along with FC Chelski 2003, Liverpool and C130Y.
An excellent, lively report, CER. That reflects the game which was end to end and a much better spectacle than boring, boring Brighton in midweek. Mansfield, I thought, were excellent, especially in transition and stretched our defence considerably. I thought Dowman was terrific and Salmon, bar his mistake, very good. Two lovely goals from Eze and Noni. We have now scored 101 goals in all competitions more than any other teams bar Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the top five leagues in Europe. Boring, boring Arsenal.
So we advance in another competition. Champions league on Wednesday and a trip to the Rhine/Ruhr in Leverkusen. I happen to know that our correspondent CER will be one of the travelling faithful. Enjoy the pork knuckles and foaming steins my friend.
Excellent, CER – very much enjoyed that.
I will take the liberty of reposting a drink from the previous bar as it survived only minutes before your new post.
For now I agree with all you’ve said above and add a thought which might provoke a bit of argument. It concerns Martinelli. And much as I love Martinelli, he concerns me. His attitude and work rate are outstanding and no-one gives more than him whenever he’s on the pitch. He has scored some brilliant breakaway goals for us over many seasons. Yesterday he was unable to get the better of a full back who plays at the wrong end of League 1, opting mostly to pass backwards, as he very often does, and when not, failing to get round or past his marker. And there’s the thing. I don’t think he’s a winger. His best goals have come from fast breaks playing through the middle where he has brilliant pace and good control. He is uncomfortable from the left wing. Even when he gets round the outside of his full back he has to work the ball with the outside of his right foot and clearly doesn’t trust his left foot to deliver.
Does that mean I want him to go ? Not at all. But when we are struggling to score goals from central positions and Merino is out for the season, I think Martinelli would be an option worth trying – in the short and long term.
From the previous bar –
“ Very nice to hear on radio this morning from the wife of Mansfield owner John Radford (no less !) – she may be co-owner, I don’t know, no sexism intended – that Arsenal were very professional and very kind to them all day, and they will be rooting for Arsenal for the rest of the competition. Brilliant from the club and the players who spent time with the local youngsters. “
And how nice to see Arteta’s post match comments on Mansfield, Nigel Clough and the FA Cup competition. The polar opposite to that nasty little creep from Brighton the other evening. Arsenal were class all round yesterday. Wonderful stuff.
Excellent report on a match I didn’t see, but everything to like about barring those two hopefully not too serious injuries.
Cheers, All. C100 – Can’t wait for Cologne tomorrow and Leverkusen Wednesday. I have already booked for dinner in appropriate knuckle/schnitzel venues on Monday and Tuesday!
Trev@2 & 3- you might well have a point. It’s possible that Martinelli is just a bit burned out as well. I hope he can find his touch again on Wednesday. Their right back was a beast yesterday. Well played to him too. Point well made, too, regarding the comments of the chairman/woman/person ( I’ve lost track of this week’s required nomenclature) who was very excited to have Arsenal there and a real breath of fresh air in pre and post match interviews. So gracious and charming, Well played, Madam. Some lessons to be learned by Premiership owners and managers.
I won’t hold my breath.
An excellent report, CER, that really captures the mood of the day. It was certainly no cakewalk though the texture of the pitch may have felt like walking on a firm sponge.
My friend from Mansfield observed that your report is good and that “the day was very respectful all round. The club owners have 3 young boys who all support Arsenal.”
Like the rest of us, he was very impressed with Max, thinks “he could really go a long way” and “needs to be playing regularly in the first team.”
Thanks CER, enjoyable report on an enjoyable day.
Agree with you and C100, credit to Mansfield who
gave it a good go and might have caused the upset
had things gone a bit more their way.
Several of our players were below par yesterday,
Gabi M, Gabi J, Kai, Leo before he went off, and even Noni
despite a good goal.
Personally, I’d be inclined to give them a pass for this
one for various reasons but I wonder what Mikel will make of it.
Just watching another League One outfit, Port Vale,
leading 1-0 with 15 minutes to go. Another iffy pitch
and battling display.
Don’t mind Port Vale or Southampton next
round, but not Chavski as I am absolutely sick
of the sight of them
OM @8. As I have just consoled my Mackem neighbour beating Port Vale away isn’t for everyone!
C100,
😂😂
Even Xhaka couldn’t save them
C100 – that was very thoughtful of you.
An old fashioned cup tie indeed, played on an old fashioned surface in the company of a vociferous, good hearted bunch of old fashioned fans. Congratulations to Mansfield, for much of the match any spectator unfamiliar with the Leagues’ hierarchy might well have imagined that they were the ‘big guys’ in this encounter.
The positives for The Arsenal were the win, progression to the quarter finals, two excellent goals, a testing introductory FA Cup contribution and experience for three very talented teenagers. In other words, job done. Celebrate. Move on in anticipation of Monday night’s draw.
A more critical appraisal might surface concerns over Mosquera’s stability absent Saliba or Gabriel alongside and Calafiori’s rustiness and tendency to break. This was an occasion on which Trossard, Norgaard, Martinelli, Jesus and Madueke might have been expected to illuminate the stadium via a demonstration of their superiority and excellence over opponents playing nearly two full leagues below them : an occasion on which their play created an irresistible demand for Arteta to start them in the run down to the fat lady’s tonsil wobble. Sadly, several may have increased the likelihood of their being pencilled in on the summer transfer list than the next starting eleven team sheet.
So in the quarter final we could draw
City
Liverpool
Chelsea
Southampton
Port Vale
Leeds/Norwich (as I write Leeds are 2-0 up at HT)
West Ham/Brentford
Anybody but City away please.
Spot on match report CER. This was a good old fashioned cup tie and much more enjoyable than our recent tension filled league matches. Mansfield gave a great impression for a lower league team whereas some of our squad players were unimpressive. The upcoming draw will have some tasty fixtures – I’m with C100, anyone but Man Cheatys – we already have enough of their company in forthcoming fixtures.
Fine report of a super Cup tie CER.
You’ve described it very well. So nice in an age of sanitised football to see a proper Cup tie Two wonderful goals but we quaked a bit at the back and were much better when we switched to a four. Kepa should have done better with the goal. Jesus and Martinelli were very poor but Dowman is superb and is on a very rapid learning curve. He seems so unaffected by his progress . I think he coukd play a very significant role this Christmas
Thanks for the report of a game of which I have only seen highlights, CER. It indeed looked like throwback football. The pitch brought back some memories, although no sand in the goal and no standing water…
Safe travels to Germany and bring us back a nice first-leg lead.
Many thanks for the kind words. As mentioned above, it was a pleasure to write on a report of a gripping game which wasn’t tortuous for a change!
Sitting at Stansted awaiting my flight ahead of the Leverkusen game. Where am I flying to? Oh, to Cologne.
Coat’s on.
Safe journey CER !
And a successful one too!
Really good stuff CER. Countryman called it a ‘lively’ report and I think that is the perfect word. It captured the energy of the occasion so well.
As other have said, huge credit to Mansfield who were excellent in everything they did, on and off the pitch. We made it through, and for all those who don’t think we should invest more effort in the FA Cup I must point out we are 3 wins away from a trophy (and winning my personal favourite competition in football).
Draw later today, so let’s see what happens. There’s quite a variance in what we might be faced with!
So it’s Southampton away in the Cup.
In other news it’s City v Liverpool.
Avoided most of the tricky ties. Not one of your favourite grounds IIRC c100. Our performances there have be3n severely lacking these past few years – hopefully this being a cup tie will be much more positive.
You recall correctly Uply! But I’m happy enough for the draw. The last time we went there was last May. We won 2-1.
Although a home tie is always preferable, and Port Vale would probably have been an easier opponent, we have avoided the ‘big boys’ in the QF and we can’t complain about this draw. Despite a poor record at St Mary’s over a few seasons, it’s a winnable tie and we simply have to go there and win. While we have 3 other irons in the fire, Southampton will have an eye on a play-off place and they certainly have work to do to get into a qualifying position.
We can do the Portsmouth / Soton
double in one cup run. Quite a
southerly run-in for our domestic
season.
We have never played Portsmouth and Southampton in the same FA Cup run before. Nor have we done so in the League Cup, largely because we have never faced Portsmouth in a League Cup tie, although we have played Southampton seven times in the competition.
However, in the FA Cup, we have played five ties against Southampton (1927, 1979, 2003, 2017 and 2021). In 1927, we went on to the final (losing to Cardiff City; the infamous Reg Lewis new sweater goal). In 1979, we won the Cup, beating Man U. In 2003, we won the Cup, beating Southampton in the final. In 2017, we secured our record-breaking 13th winning Cup Final victory, by beating Chelsea in the final.
The blemish on this record was in 2021 when we lost behind COVID-enforced closed doors at Southampton to Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team in the fourth round, a Big Gabbi own goal.
Thanks, OptaNed ! Interesting.
And I’d forgotten all about Ralph RabbitHutch ! Strictly speaking a ‘hase’ is a hare in German – a rabbit is a (das) Kaninchen – but Hase is also often used to mean a bunny. A great name, whatever 🙃
I hope the Winchmore Hill Holics are resisting the temptation to drink lots of excellent Pils in Leverkusen.
Trev@27: Your memory serves you well. Ralph Hasenhüttl has been unemployed since being sacked by Wolfsburg in May 2025.
Interesting if somewhat flimsy piece about another Gabi that Arteta has collected.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/ckgl89p45rgo
Jonathan Wilson on why folks don’t want us to win the league:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/09/it-seems-like-most-of-england-wants-arsenal-to-fail-why
Thanks Ned – the Wilson piece reminded me of a Canadian
Gooner who went to an Arsenal bar in Toronto during all the
WoB internal fighting.
It was his first time in an Arsenal bar and he’d mainly watched the games
on tv and followed a couple of Arsenal blogs. He was very surprised that
in the real world it was about 75/25 in favour of AW at the time, as he
thought from the media and online Gooners that was the other way round.
No idea if it’s true everywhere but here most “neutrals” I know would rather we
win than Cheaty.
Nice piece on Gabriel Heinz’s
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/ckgl89p45rgo
It’s a great article and underlines the long friendship between the two men which is the basis of the trust Mikel has put in Heinze. The whole team have probably displayed an enhanced level of aggression this season that may well be down to the addition of the somewhat aggressive Argentinian to the coaching team.
The term “aggressive Argentinian “ is a tautology Bath. And you such a stylist usually 🤗
Can anybody tell me why we weren’t after Oshimen last summer? He looks better than every other striker in the Prem at the moment.
Heh, C100 @35!
A very good question, C100 @36. I suspect it was the asking price.
C100@36 & Bath@37: There were reports in the German press in 2025 that we (and Manu U and Chelsea) were looking at him in 2025, but the way that Oshimen went about trying to force Napoli to sell him, with the Italian club resisting a move to any potential CL rival, raised questions about his character. Arteta, having gone through getting rid of Auba and Özil, did not want to buy a replacement who would be a second coming of those two. That Oshimen, in the prime of his career, ended up at Galatasaray rather than in the PL reinforces the notion that the backstory was more than just price.
Fabulous Barney Ronay piece.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/10/arsenal-mikel-arteta-style-quadruple
Thanks, Ned @38. I did suspect that personality might also have been a significant factor but I hadn’t seen any documentary evidence. I am sure you are correct that MA8 will not willingly welcome another selfish egotist to his dressing room again. Watching Oshimen tonight, nor does he exude a team ethic and while one wants one’s strikers to take chances rather than pass, tonight he didn’t seem overly keen on making assists.
Meanwhile, in the absence of a timely preview, we can amble towards the half ton with some elegant footwork. *Rolls the ball along the 6 yard line towards…..
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!! Atletico with 4 goals in the first 22 minutes against the neighbors.
Spurs should run out to the “Curb your enthusiasm” music.
When the going gets tough, you turn to…..
Gallagher and Solanke.
Sounds like a better folk duo than Chaz and Dave, though.
>>>>>>>