London: Emile Smith-Rowe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored in extra time as Mikel Arteta’s side began their FA Cup defence with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Newcastle United in the third round at Emirates Stadium last night.
After arriving as a second-half substitute, Smith-Rowe had a red card rescinded for a tackle on Sean Longstaff in stoppage time following a VAR review.
The 20-year-old midfielder went on to score the opener as he latched on to a ball from Alexandre Lacazette inside the box before slipping it past Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
Aubameyang also found the net from close range in the final minutes of extra time to extend Arsenal’s winning run to four games in all competitions.
Relief
“I was really happy, a bit of a relief for me with the incident before,” Smith-Rowe told the BBC. “It definitely wasn’t intentional – happy to get the goal and get through to the next round.
Arsenal, who have lifted the FA Cup a record 14 times, have failed to progress to the fourth round just once in the last quarter of a century. The result left Newcastle without a win in seven games in all competitions.
Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure scored an extra-time winner as they edged Rotherham United 2-1 in an absorbing FA Cup third round tie, while sixth-tier side Chorley beat a Derby County team weakened by a Covid-19 outbreak.
After 90 minutes the score at Goodison Park was level at 1-1 with Cenk Tosun’s first Everton goal since November 2019 cancelled out by a 56th minute strike from lowly Championship (second-tier) side Rotherham’s American right back Matthew Olosunde.
But three minutes into extra time the Premier League side got the decisive goal when substitute Doucoure latched onto Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez’s precise through ball before sliding it past helpless goalkeeper Jamal Blackman.
In the absence of first-team players and interim manager Wayne Rooney, a youthful Derby County side were defeated 2-0 at National League North outfit Chorley.
The Covid-19 outbreak at Derby meant nine of the starting 11 were making debuts and the visitors fell behind when Connor Hall put Chorley ahead in the first half before Mike Calveley added a second in the 84th to secure a maiden fourth round berth.
Premier League basement side Sheffield United celebrated their first win in all competitions in six months by coming out on top in a five-goal thriller at Bristol Rovers.
League One’s Bristol Rovers equalised for the second time through Max Ehmer in the 62nd minute at Memorial Stadium, only for United to make it 3-2 after 54 seconds through Jayden Bogle’s second goal in three matches.
The result ended a dismal run of form for Chris Wilder’s United, whose last win in a competitive game came on July 11 when they beat Chelsea in the Premier League.
Burnley striker Matej Vydra snatched a stoppage time equaliser to force extra time at Turf Moor before the hosts edged third-tier Milton Keynes Dons 4-3 in a penalty shootout.
Fellow Premier League strugglers West Bromwich Albion were also forced to the distance at Blackpool but Sam Allardyce’s side went down 3-2 on penalties.
James Justin’s sublime curling shot from the edge of the box found the top corner and set Leicester City on their way to an emphatic 4-0 victory over second-tier Stoke City.
Wycombe Wanderers, who are rooted to the bottom of the Championship, found the net three times in the opening 25 minutes and went on to claim a 4-1 win over fellow second division side Preston North End.
Millwall’s Danish striker Kenneth Zohore and defender Shaun Hutchinson led the Championship side to a 2-0 win over fifth-tier third-round debutants Boreham Wood, while Nottingham Forest beat Cardiff City 1-0 with an early goal by striker Lyle Taylor.
Luton Town beat Reading 1-0 in another all-Championship clash to reach the fourth round for the first time since the 2012-13 season thanks to midfielder George Moncur.
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