Eberechi Eze staggers Mansfield as Arsenal survive FA Cup scare

The main stand at the oldest professional football ground in the world shook when substitute Will Evans equalised early in the second half, cancelling Noni Madueke’s first-half opener. It ought to have been a mismatch — quadruple-chasing Arsenal against Mansfield, who sit 16th in League One — but the hosts were delirious.

It was only the fifth time that Mansfield had reached the FA Cup fifth round; the previous occasion was in 1975, and only once have they made it to the quarter-finals, in 1969. Arsenal cut through the romance. They had the outstanding player on the pitch in 16-year-old Max Dowman and, after Mikel Arteta turned to one of his big guns on the bench, Eberechi Eze fizzed a shot high into the Mansfield net from the edge of the area to break their hearts.

Mansfield kept fighting and there was a half-chance for substitute Oliver Irow in stoppage time, but his header lacked power and Arsenal were able to tick off a difficult assignment on a tricky pitch.

eberechi eze, arsenal, mansfield, fa cup, noni madueke, will evans, max dowman, mikel arteta, oliver irow, league one