Three positives and two negatives as Arsenal beat Mansfield Town in the FA Cup

Arsenal are through to the FA Cup quarter-finals after a hard-fought 2-1 win over League One outfit Mansfield Town.

The boss saw this as a chance to rotate and it was one of his nine new faces, Noni Madueke, who put the Gunners ahead.

His left foot oozed Premier League class as he struck the Gabriel Martinelli layoff first time from just inside the box, the vicious curl and power on his shot proving too much for Liam Roberts to keep out.

Positives and negatives as Arsenal do enough to get past Mansfield in the FA Cup Fifth Round

Mansfield never gave up and equalised thanks to a defensive mix-up from Arsenal not long after the break. But Eberechi Eze ensured the visitors would make it through the tie with an unstoppable shot into the top corner on 66 minutes.

Progress to the next round is secured; here are three positives and two negatives from a victorious cup trip for the quadruple chasers.  

Positive #1: Arsenal hit 100

How did ‘Boring, boring Arsenal’ manage it?

Critics have kicked them from pillar to post this week for their ‘negative’ football but the numbers tell a very different story.

Noni Madueke scored a fine goal on Saturday and, with it, he notched the 100th goal for the Gunners this year across all competitions. It took them until April 20th to reach the century mark last campaign and the strike from Eze to seal their cup progression means they are already on the way towards the next century.

Of course, it does not end all the conversations – and critique – of Arteta’s style, but it still feels like a nice rebuttal to reach that sort of goal tally after a week of ridiculous commentary over the Gunners’ approach to games.

May the goals and tears continue.        

Negative #1: Encouraging the opposition

Fans have long suspected that Arsenal might be their own worst enemy in the quest for silverware in 2025/26.

So it proved here as there were several careless moments which left Arteta incensed on the sideline, including a few cheap, backheel giveaways from Gabriel Jesus. Also, the Mansfield goal came from a poor pass by Marli Salmon along with a costly moment of hesitation from Cristhian Mosquera, who opted not to engage the home attacker.

Errors are part of the game and perhaps inevitable from an Arsenal team with so many changes to it as players might not be sharp or familiar enough with their teammates’ runs. However, it meant that Arsenal made it harder here than it needed to be and it could so easily have cost them their place in the competition.

Instead, number 15 remains in sight.  

Positive #2: Max Dowman returns

This campaign has not been kind to Max Dowman on the injury front, but he made his return to the first team here.

It was also his first appearance since signing fresh terms in January and the performance gave fans a flavour of why Arsenal wanted him to stay. He was often positive on the ball, not afraid to take on the Mansfield defence or to try force the issue, and one fantastic run in the second half really opened up the home backline.

The only disappointment was his finishing; he had two glorious chances to put the Gunners in front but could not find the clinical touch.

Still, those misses do not change the fact that he had a great afternoon overall, especially for a player who had not featured for the first team since November (a late cameo against Slavia Prague); stay fit from this point on and he could have a say during the run in.  

Bukayo Saka would appreciate the support.

Negative #2: Trossard and Calafiori knocks

Forget ‘one in, one out’; Arsenal upgraded their injury policy at the weekend as two players left the pitch with knocks.

Leandro Trossard was first to temper the Dowman hype when he went down in the first half, while Riccardo Calafiori followed suit (AGAIN!) after the break as he seemed to pull a muscle in the act of clearing the ball.

It remains to be seen how serious their respective knocks are, though the fact Trossard came off so quickly might indicate a degree of severity – or else Arteta just did not want to take any risks. For his teammate, an awful injury history and talk of a hamstring problem from the TNT commentary team could condemn him to another stint in the treatment room.

Arsenal need good injury luck if they are to keep their incredible season on track, but it looks like the football gods are not listening.

Positive #3: Quadruple dream still alive

Arsenal edge closer to sporting immortality.

Their win at Mansfield leaves them just three games away from another FA Cup triumph, while they are eight games from a first league title in 22 years. That is before you even mention their continued involvement in Europe or the 90 minutes that separate them from lifting the Carabao Cup trophy on March 22nd.

One can only imagine that it will not happen – no team has ever achieved it and the Arsenal team is looking leggy of late trying to fight on four fronts.

But when you are THIS close to doing it, then it must be aimed at and Arteta will believe that he has the depth to compete in every match. Fans will probably be happy with ‘just’ the league if the going gets tough but just imagine how much it would wind up all the naysayers if this ‘ugly’ Arsenal team could do the impossible?

Keep believing.