Arsenal |
5-0 |
Leyton Orient |
Chamakh 7, Bendtner 30, 43, 62 (pen), Clichy 75 |
|
The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
Fifth Round Proper Replay
7.45pm, Wednesday 2 March 2011
The Emirates Stadium, Arsenal FC
Live on ESPN
Winning clubs receive £180,000 from The FA's prize fund
Click here for results
There was to be no League Cup Final hangover or FA Cup upset at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, as Arsenal sealed their place in the Sixth Round Proper and set up a mouth-watering tie with Manchester United by comfortably seeing off near neighbours Leyton Orient in this London derby.
First half goals from Marouane Chamakh and a double from Nicklas Bendtner set Arsene Wenger’s side on their way, before Bendtner completed his hat-trick after the break from the penalty spot and Gael Clichy smashed home a late fifth to give the scoreline a spot of gloss.
Having deservedly earned a second shot at the Gunners following the 1-1 draw in the first tie at Brisbane Road ten days ago, this was Orient’s eighth FA Cup match of the season and they were backed by around 9000 fans at the Emirates. They could all be proud of their side’s efforts, not just against Arsenal but in knocking out two established Championship clubs in Norwich City and Swansea City along the way.
The League One team more than met their match on this occasion though and it didn’t take Arsenal long to stamp their authority on the tie as they went ahead in the seventh minute when Tomas Rosicky sharply nipped onto a loose ball 30 yards from goal and broke clear down the right. He pulled a low cross back into the area and Chamakh was left with the simple task of side-footing past an exposed Jamie Jones.
However, Orient had made a relatively bright start too and could have equalised almost immediately after that when Ben Chorley, a former Arsenal player, volleyed an angled shot at goal which was flicked over the bar by team-mate Scott McGleish from just a matter of yards.
If that wasn’t warning enough for the hosts, they really were fortunate to keep hold of their lead in the 13th minute, when Charlie Daniels did superbly well on the left to beat both Emmanuel Eboue and Sebastien Squillaci before driving a low cross into the danger zone for Alex Revell who prodded wide when he really should have hit the target and brought his side level.
Arsenal, who made ten changes from the team which lost at Wembley on Sunday, stepped up a gear after that and made Orient pay for their leniency in front of goal when they added a second on the half-hour mark. A cross-field move from right to left saw the ball eventually worked by Abou Diaby to Kieran Gibbs and his flighted centre was perfect for Bendtner, who timed his jump perfectly to plant a header into the top corner and put his side in control.
The Danish striker then added his second just before the break to all but seal Arsenal’s place in the Sixth Round. Rather than a typical Arsenal passing move which we’re often used to seeing from the Gunners, this time Rosicky hassled and robbed the ball off Orient’s Thomas Carroll just outside the area. The ball duly fell to Bendtner and he controlled in an instant before sweeping a low shot beyond Jones and into the far corner.
Into the second half and Diaby missed a great chance to get his name on the scoresheet, before the visitors enjoyed another lively spell with Daniels and Dean Cox both delivering teasing crosses from the left only to see the ball just not quite dropping for McGleish and Revell on two separate occasions.
It was soon back to the other end though and when Gibbs was felled in the box by Revell, it gave Bendtner the perfect chance to complete his hat-trick from the spot by picking out the corner and claiming the match-ball for himself.
Substitute Gael Clichy then made it five with 15 minutes left, when a ball across the area rolled perfectly for him to smash home a first-time shot with his left-foot.
Orient almost had the goal they deserved in the last minute when Cox drifted past Squillaci and into the box, but unfortunately could only guide his shot over the bar despite the mass of Orient fans behind the goal just willing the ball home.
Arsenal: 1 Manuel Almunia (c), 2 Abou Diaby (22 Gael Clichy, 66) 7 Tomas Rosicky (8 Samir Nasri, 62) 15 Denilson, 18 Sebastien Squillaci, 27 Emmanuel Eboue, 28 Kieran Gibbs, 29 Marouane Chamakh, 44 Conor Henderson, 48 Ignasi Miquel, 52 Nicklas Bendtner (19 Jack Wilshere, 66).
Substitutes not used: 3 Bacary Sagna, 20 Johan Djourou, 23 Andrey Arshavin, 53 Wojciech Szczesny.
Leyton Orient: 1 Jamie Jones, 3 Andrew Whing, 4 Ben Chorley, 6 Terrell Forbes, 7 Dean Cox, 8 Stephen Dawson (c), 9 Scott McGleish (18 Jonathan Tehoue, 66) 11 Alex Revell (27 Paul-Jose Mpoku, 79), 13 Charlie Daniels, 17 Jason Crowe (16 Matthew Spring, 66) 25 Thomas Carroll.
Substitutes not used: 2 Elliot Omozusi, 10 Adam Chambers, 12 Lee Butcher, 19 Mike Cestor.
Referee: Lee Mason.
Assistant Referees: Scott Ledger & Stephen Child.
Fourth Official: Lee Probert
Attendance: 59361
