After a series of nail biting Premier League fixtures, the prospect of a stress free day out in Mansfield was most appealing to me. The Arsenal players bought into the mood too and seemed to switch into their pre-season friendly mode with tippy tappy, flicks and tricks which look great on an Emirates quality smooth pitch, but the surface at Field Mill was sticky, bobbly and lived up to its name, and I don’t mean the mill part.
Arteta got thoroughly into the spirit of things by going three at the back and picking five goal scorers although the goal scoring bit was debatable.
Ok, maybe I’m being too harsh because Max Dowman became the youngest player ever to represent Arsenal in the FA Cup, along with the composed Marli Salmon meaning that Arsenal began a major game with two 16 year olds in the starting XI, which has never happened before at Arsenal and possibly at any top division club.
Arteta lent into the experience of Norgaard, Kepa, Jesus, Trossard and Havertz, with the last three rotating positions between midfield and attack. Martinelli and Madueke brought their pace and unpredictability to the flanks which means you never know what you were going to get from them, with Dowman showing off his full repertoire but with his finishing needing some more work, Arsenal looked well capable.
With 2 minutes gone the Mansfield players had already dished out three yellowish fouls showing they meant business but on the 4th minute the impressive, as it turned out, Mansfield goalkeeper played a loose forward pass and Dowman was on it in a flash. Max surged towards goal but his shot lacked conviction and it was saved by the goalkeeper. A minute later Mosquera has a shot deflected over the bar as Arsenal pressed for an early goal.
Arsenal’s passing wasn’t at its best, our players perhaps struggling to adapt to the sticky surface. Under hit and misplaced passes stymied our rhythm and Mansfield got well back into things. Mosquera was knocked out of his comfort zone by a Mansfield player who swept past him and crossed dangerously on the 11th minute, Kepa made two big saves as the ball ricocheted around the Arsenal box – this wasn’t meant to happen!
Two minutes later a dangerous drive flew past Kepa’s far post – did he have it covered, I’m not too sure on that. Then on 17 minutes a Dowman pass went astray which led to another attempt on goal. Okay, this was a makeshift Arsenal team and it was a very young defence but we needed to see more from our lads because these kinds of performances can lead to cup upsets! On 23 finally we got to grips and Trossard found himself set to open the scoring but his shot went wastefully over the bar. Two minutes later good approach work saw Dowman find Martinelli but the goalkeeper saved, he looked a solid shot-stopper. From the corner Madueke almost bent it home but it thudded back off of the post and to Dowman whose follow up shot was blocked.
On 29 minutes a great run from inside his own half by Trossard left the Mansfield back line exposed, his pass found Dowman bearing down on goal but again the finish lacked enough punch and the keeper saved. Two minutes later Madueke set himself for a shot on goal but blasted it high over the bar and into somebody’s back garden, classic Noni. Up to this point Jesus had been simply anonymous then on 33minutes a Trossard stumble led to a dangerous situation on our left being exposed but fortunately the cross was fired in straight at Kepa who gratefully fell onto the ball.
Marli Salmon showed his composure and anticipation by snuffing out a threatening break on 36 minutes, he really caught the eye with his use of the ball and his reading of the game, a classic case of less is more.
Trossard went down worryingly on 38 holding the back of his thigh which is exactly what we needed to bloody avoid, off he went for Hincapie and the defence redeployed into a more settled back four with Norgaard holding in front.
It looked as if we were heading to towards a goal-less half time break then Noni got his head in gear. He had a rasping shot on 41 minutes which their keeper parried but the ball ran to Martinelli and he slipped the ball back inside to Noni who had ran across the face of goal. Noni steadied himself and fired across the goalkeeper to open the scoring. It looked so easy when you do the easy things properly. A minute later as Mansfield responded a long pass found Noni in on goal but he screwed his shot well wide, hit and miss from our winger and at the break it was H/T 0-1
On 48 minutes Arsenal persevered with the short corners and a Dowman chip was headed clear, a minute later another short corner saw Noni chip into the box where a Jesus header was easily saved. Not long afterwards the home fans were rocking as a Salmon pass to Mosquera was under hit and for some reason Cristian backed away from a 50/50 challenge you’d expect him to win and the Mansfield forward rounded him, squeezing a low shot under the dive of Kepa. It was such an avoidable goal. So FA Cup but so annoying. Now it was anyone’s game.
Arsenal responded and on 54 Dowman went on a great run but again his shot lacked punch, this was becoming a theme for Max, one I hope he rectifies. On 62 minutes Arteta decided to make two changes and off came the tiring Salmon to be replaced by Timber and Eze replaced a Havertz still trying to recapture his form. Two minutes later a great break by Madueke found Dowman whose astute pass fed Jesus but another chance was frittered away. Finally on 66 minutes the scourge of North 17 showed everyone how to strike a ball, Norgaard found Eze loitering just on the D and he spun and buried his shot with the minimum of fuss. That’s it lads, just put your foot through it.
That knocked the steam out of the home fans and an increasingly annoying commentator on TNT Sports. Mansfield to their credit kept fighting but their intensity decreased noticeably. Arsenal managed the following few minutes then on 77 Arteta made his last two changes as Calafiori went off with a Trossard style thigh injury to be replaced by new boy Dixon on debut and a tiring Dowman went off for Saka, a game management change I think. Dixon almost immediately gave away possession with a poor pass and it led to the crowd screaming for a penalty as Mosquera dived in to stop a dangerous situation. He got the ball but I sensed the referee’s arm twitching. Dixon in his cameo showed he isn’t Lee Dixon but hopefully he’ll learn…
Arsenal continued to probe for the 3rd goal but the finishing continued to frustrate, on 82 Madueke broke forward and found Saka overlapping, Bakayo inexplicably slowed down almost inviting a challenge but eventually got off a shot that the goalkeeper smothered, then Jesus capped a forgettable performance by wastefully blasting over the bar. I hope all those Serie A clubs that are supposedly interested in him were scouting elsewhere whilst our game was going on.
As the game went into 6 minutes of added time a break from Saka found Martinelli but unsurprisingly he shot wide and there was just enough time for Hincapie to snuff out a Mansfield break with a perfectly timed sliding tackle – I love that guy. That was that, we’re in the hat for the quarter-finals and three wins from a trophy.
A bit of a mix n match game, some great approach play and some woeful finishing. Mosquera was a tad nervy at times, he missed having either Saliba or Gabriel alongside him but central defenders start out rash before maturing into a rich fruity Merlot. Salmon was almost Salibaesque showing a composure I’ve not seen from a teenage centre back since David O’Leary, who was at the game. Dowman was full of energy and invention but he needs to work on his shooting and finishing, that’ll come as he grows stronger whilst Dixon needs to work a lot harder on his distribution.
The big worry is the fitness of Trossard and Calafiori, with the must win games stacking up we don’t need an injury crisis thank you very much.
We still march on…
**By Kev.**