Arsenal Vs Sutton: Recap, Highlights And Analysis

The fifth round of the FA Cup saw Arsenal take a trip to non-league Sutton United. Here is the full recap, highlights and analysis from the 2-1 win.

That was an important win for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. The trip to non-league Sutton United was fraught with danger, especially after a run of form that saw the Gunners’ hopes for both the Premier League and Champions League end in disastrous fashion.

However, in a professional manner, Wenger’s side were calm amid a raucous atmosphere, and although their display was far from complete, qualification for the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, where they will now face another non-league side in Lincoln City, was the primary task.

The first half started as you would have expected. Arsenal dominated much of the ball while Sutton sat deep and stifled their visitors in the final third. Jeff Reine-Adelaide had a few nice touches but little was created. There was a brief moment of excitement when an errant streaker found his way onto the pitch but for much of the opening periods, boredom was perhaps the most prevalent feeling.

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The breakthrough did come, though, for the Gunners on the 27th minute. For the first time in the game, Sutton pushed a little higher up the pitch and Arsenal countered with great pace. Granit Xhaka released Lucas Perez, who was playing in a central role with Theo Walcott out wide. The Spaniard held up the ball, shifted it inside onto his favoured left foot and angled a shot, low towards the back post. Walcott made a darting run across the near post but failed to get a touch on the ball, seeing it nestle in the far corner.

The remainder of the half continued in the same measured fashion. Alex Iwobi had a shot deflect and whisper past the post, while a moment of David Ospina madness gave Adam May the perfect chance to equalise, but the Sutton midfielder skewed the shot wide, unable to capitalise.

At half-time, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on and immediately provided some forward-thinking distribution from midfield. He played a couple of accurate passes into the feet of Theo Walcott and began to control the game from what is now seemingly his entrenched role. The second goal came for Arsenal and it was a lovely, free-flowing move.

Granit Xhaka fired a pass into Perez. A first time lay-off to Alex Iwobi was matched by a first-time angled pass into the overlapping run of Nacho Monreal. Monreal then played a low, square pass across the penalty area which found its way to the feet of Theo Walcott who simply poked home into the empty net.

Oxlade-Chamberlain continued to showcase his new-found confidence in his new role. His distribution was excellent; accurate and consistent, and his ball retention was sharp throughout. A driving run should have led to another Walcott goal, but the final ball was poor and Walcott couldn’t quite find the finish as the ball flew, agonisingly across the six-yard box.

The final stages of the game petered out. For reasons unfathomable to man, Alexis Sanchez was afforded a late cameo and Arsenal were again wasteful on the break on numerous occasions, but the game was all but over with the atmosphere dying down somewhat despite a couple of brief Sutton chances, a Rory Deacon strike that smashed against the crossbar being the highlight of those.

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While the performance was far from convincing, the result was positive, and after the week that has brought about vicious criticism and difficult questions, this was a game that started the long, slow but all-important calming process.

Highlights

Lucas Perez opens the scoring. #afc https://t.co/76XOWc59nx
— Arsenal (@AFCvideosHD) February 20, 2017

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