Emile Smith Rowe (R) celebrates after scoring the opening goal of
the English FA Cup third round football match between Arsenal and
Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium in London on January 9,
2021. Glyn KIRK / AFP
Emile Smith Rowe made the most of his red card reprieve
as the Arsenal youngster sent the FA Cup holders into the
fourth round with the decisive extra-time strike in Saturday’s 2-0
victory against Newcastle.
Smith Rowe avoided being sent off when his foul on Sean
Longstaff — initially ruled a dismissal — was changed to a booking
after referee Chris Kavanagh consulted the pitchside monitor.
It would have been harsh on the promising 20-year-old midfielder
if he had been given his marching orders.
Smith Rowe celebrated the escape with a fine finish to open the
scoring in a hard-fought third-round tie at the Emirates
Stadium.
Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bagged Arsenal’s second
goal — just his sixth of a difficult season — in the final
moments.
“It was bit of a relief for me with the (red card) incident. It
definitely wasn’t intentional,” Smith Rowe said.
“I’m happy to get the goal. From a young kid I have always
wanted to play for this club.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (L) chases the ball during the English
Premier League football match between West Bromwich Albion and
Arsenal at The Hawthorns stadium in West Bromwich, central England,
on January 2, 2021. Rui Vieira / POOL / AFP
“We knew how tough it was going to be. It was about breaking
them down. It shows how together we are.
“We have been working off the pitch to get closer as a
group.”
The Gunners gave boss Mikel Arteta the first silverware of his
reign when they beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final in August and the
optimism provided by that success is slowly returning to north
London after a difficult period.
Arteta was fighting to save his job just two weeks ago, but
three successive wins over Christmas lifted Arsenal away from the
Premier League relegation zone and eased the pressure on the
Spaniard.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Arsenal have won the FA Cup a record 14 times, lifting the
trophy four times in the last seven seasons, and another long run
in the competition would be a welcome boost for Arteta.
Smith Rowe shines
Bernd Leno, Kieran Tierney, Pablo Mari and Aubameyang were the
only Arsenal players to retain their places from the 4-0 win at
West Brom.
Arsenal were forced into a late change after Gabriel Martinelli
suffered an ankle injury in the warm-up and was replaced by Reiss
Nelson.
Newcastle made eight changes of their own but chances were at a
premium for Arsenal until David Luiz’s quick free-kick found
Aubameyang, whose stinging strike was pushed away by Martin
Dubravka.
Andy Carroll scored his first Newcastle goal in 10 years
recently and he forced Leno into action with an agile strike from
the edge of the area early in the second half.
Newcastle were showing more attacking intent, only for Carroll
to waste a golden opportunity to put them ahead when he stabbed
wide from close range.
Joe Willock forced Dubravka to make a superb save at full
stretch when the midfielder met Nicolas Pepe’s cross with a
glancing header.
Arsenal captain Aubameyang couldn’t hit the target with a
close-range header before Leno made a brilliant stop to deny
Carroll in the final moments of normal time.
Arsenal broke through in the 109th minute when Bukayo Saka
chipped a pass to Alexandre Lacazette and his header reached Smith
Rowe, who controlled on his chest before drilling a fine finish
into the far corner for his second goal of the season.
Aubameyang put the result beyond doubt in the 117th minute when
he tapped in Tierney’s cross.
AFP
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2021/01/10/fa-cup-smith-rowe-fires-arsenal-into-fourth-round/