Arsene
Wenger's men got revenge for their drubbing at Anfield thanks to goals from the
German and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and will now host Everton in the sixth
round
Arsenal held off a late fightback from Liverpool to book their place in the quarter-finals of
the FA Cup thanks to a 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday
afternoon.
Brendan Rodgers' side hammered
Arsenal 5-1 at Anfield in the Premier League last weekend, but the north London
club restored some pride by avenging that defeat to set up a last-eight
encounter with Everton.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handed the hosts an early advantage after 16 minutes,
sliding the ball home from inside the area to register a third goal from his
last three appearances at the Emirates Stadium.
The England international then turned provider shortly after the interval,
pulling a ball back for Lukas Podolski after a smart one-two between himself
and Mesut Ozil.
Steven Gerrard's penalty gave
Liverpool hope a minute before the hour and the visitors were aggrieved when
referee Howard Webb failed to award another spot-kick after Oxlade-Chamberlain
appeared to foul Luis Suarez in the area.
Daniel Agger almost grabbed a dramatic equaliser with four minutes left when he
headed wide after Lukasz Fabianski flapped at a delivery from Gerrard, but
Arsenal stood strong to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in three
years.
The Gunners, with one eye on Wednesday's Champions League clash with Bayern
Munich, made seven changes from Wednesday's goalless draw with Manchester
United, while Liverpool's only notable switch came in goal as Brad Jones
replaced Simon Mignolet.
Daniel Sturridge had two early chances for Liverpool, forcing Fabianski into an
early save after just a minute before latching onto Suarez's clipped
through-ball, rounding the goalkeeper and firing into the side netting.
Yaya Sanogo, making a rare start in place of Olivier Giroud, was then involved
in a series of Arsenal half-chances before the pressure told as Oxlade-Chamberlain fired home; the England
international was on hand to side-foot home the loose ball after Sanogo's
effort was blocked.
Liverpool recovered well and enjoyed a strong spell of possession, but
struggled to force Fabianski into any further saves.
A more accurate cross from Podolski seven minutes before the break would have
offered Sanogo a chance to double Arsenal's lead, while Suarez got a shot away
on goal two minutes before the break, only for Fabianski to palm away with a
strong right hand.
Podolski did, however, extend the home side's advantage two minutes after the
break when he applied a sweeping finish to Oxlade-Chamberlain's cutback from
the byline.
Suarez hit a vicious dipping effort just over the crossbar as he sought to
bring Liverpool back into the game while Ozil's save was kept out by Jones soon
after.
Gerrard then handed Liverpool a fighting chance from the spot after Suarez was
brought down by Podolski in the area before Sturridge almost drew Liverpool
level, only for Fabianski to deny him when he looked to have rounded him.
Liverpool felt they should have had another penalty when Suarez appeared to be
clattered by Oxlade-Chamberlain in the area, but Webb was unmoved, before
Agger then came close to hauling the sides level late on but headed wide with
the goal gaping.
Having this week been described as a "specialist in failure" by
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who saw his side dumped out of the competition
by Manchester City on Saturday, Wenger will now be especially keen to go all
the way in the FA Cup.
The guttural roar from the raucous
home supporters at the final whistle reflected the importance of this win to a
club that have not won a trophy since 2005.
Arsenal needed a little luck and plenty of character to hang on in the final
stages - but this was a huge win for Arsene Wenger’s side as they battle on
three fronts, with a Champions League clash against Bayern Munich next up here
on Wednesday.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski scored the goals for the visitors,
while at the other end deputy goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was in inspired form
to deny Liverpool’s strikers.
The visitors did score from the penalty spot and were only denied another
spot-kick by a dire refereeing decision from Howard Webb after Luis Suarez was
hacked down by Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Webb should also have sent-off Steven Gerrard for a second booking, much to the
fury of the home supporters. But they go home happy and in a great position to
end their trophy drought in the final three months of the season.
