AsaphMic Live:Arsenal 5VS 0 Lincoln City

FA Cup

• March 11, 2017
• • 17:30
• • Emirates Stadium, London

• Referee: A. Taylor

Arsenal

Lincoln City

Live Commentary

• The referee has mercy on Lincoln, blowing for full-time without any stoppage period. A rueful smile from Danny Cowley as his side's fairytale run in the cup is over. The non-league side were simply overwhelmed in the second half after a commendable first. Arsenal get back to winning ways and do what was expected of them. That's all from us, thanks for tuning in! 
• 89'

  Lincoln are on the ropes, and could do with the final whistle now as Walcott flashes a cross the wrong side of the post, before taking another attempt from the D, which is also off the mark. 
• 87'

  CROSSBAR! Sanchez curls a tremendous free-kick onto the woodwork, and the Gunners keep it alive, only for Ramsey to lash a shot around the post via a deflection. 
• 85'

  Yellow Card Sean Raggett
  Moments after Lucas Perez avoided a booking for a dive inside the box, Raggett collects one for a meaty foul on the edge of the box. 
• 85'

  Walcott once again gets free down the right-hand side, and his low cross is blocked out for a corner. Arsenal play it short, and Ozil's beautiful pass is headed across the face of goal, but there's no takers. 
• 82'

  SAVE FOR CECH! Another positive spell for Lincoln ends with a long-range effort from Power from a central position, but the keeper moved his feet well and caught it relatively comfortably. 
• 79'

  Lincoln have a belated spell of possession in the opposition half, and Coquelin drags back Woodyard, giving Marriott, who's only just come on the pitch, the chance to bend a free-kick well over the bar. 
• 78'

  SubstitutionTerry HawkridgeAdam Marriott
  Hawkridge is summoned to the bench as Adam Marriott comes on. 
• 75'

  Goal Aaron Ramsey
  RAMSEY MAKES IT FIVE! Sanchez keeps three defenders guessing before playing the ball across the face of goal for the Welshman to walk into the back of the net. 
• 72'

  Assist Mesut Özil
  He didn't do much there, but Ozil gets his first assist in a while. 
• 72'

  Goal Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez
  TREMENDOUS FROM SANCHEZ! The Chilean has been on the periphery of this game, but comes alive in style, skipping past Wood before caressing a long-range effort into the far corner.
• 71'

  His team are three-nil up, but Coquelin still feels the need to go in full-blooded on Hawkridge with a studs-up challenge. He could have been sent right back down the tunnel after only just coming on, but he somehow escapes without even a yellow. 
• 68'

  The sting has gon out of this game now with Lincoln very much in damage limitation mode. Arsenal are in no hurry to over-exert themselves in pursuit of a fourth goal. 
• 66'

  SubstitutionMatthew RheadJoseph Ward
  Rhead doesn't get that sort of reception after a bruising first-half, with Ward replacing him. 
• 65'

  SubstitutionOlivier GiroudLucas Pérez Martínez
  Giroud, who has scored 12 goals in his past 14 starts, is replaced by Lucas Perez, who receives a warm cheer from the fans. He's gone public with his desire for more first-team football recently. 
• 63'

  Yellow Card Jonathon Margetts
  Oof. That was a poor challenge. A ball down the right is asking too much of Margetts and as Gibbs clears it away, the substitute flattens him with a reckless lunge. The referee shows him yellow. 
• 61'

  SubstitutionGranit XhakaFrancis Coquelin
  Xhaka is substituted for Francis Coquelin. 
• 60'

  Problems mounting for Lincoln as Farman is down on the deck off the ball in some distress. A lot for Danny Cowley to take in at the moment. 
• 58'

  Own Goal Luke Waterfall
  IT'S THREE! Reality starting to set in for the visiting side, as another period of pressure sees Gibbs flash a low cross into the six-yard area that's diverted into the goal by Waterfall. 
• 56'

  SHOULD BE THREE! Bellerin skips past Power on the edge of the area, and opens his body up to curl a finish for the far corner, but it ends up behind the goal instead of in the back of the net. 
• 54'

  SubstitutionJack MuldoonJonathon Margetts
  Muldoon is replaced by the man that he narrowly beat to a starting berth, Jonathon Margetts. 
• 53'

  Assist Héctor Bellerín Moruno
  Bellerin set that one up. 
• 53'

  Goal Olivier Giroud
  ARSENAL HAVE A SECOND! Well-worked by the home side. Giroud misses his initial swing from Ozil's cross, but the Gunners keep it active. Sanchez releases Bellerin, who tees up the French striker for the finish. 

• 52'

  Arsenal look like they mean business in the second half as Giroud touches it to Ozil, who returns it to the striker at the near post, but his finish is weak, meek and saved with ease. 
• 50'

  GOOD CHANCE! Arsenal turn defence into attack in an instant, with Giroud taking a long pass in stride before drawing a fine save from Farman, before Walcott clips the rebound back in for Gibbs to head over! 
• 47'

  Yellow Card Alex Woodyard
  Gibbs was just too quick for Woodyard, who took him out and was booked. 
• 46'

  Off we go.
• We're at half-time, and Arsenal have a lead that they barely, barely deserve. Lincoln were forced to be increasingly defensive the longer the game went on, but they were doing a fine job of frustrating the Gunners, until Walcott struck in stoppage time. This one is far from over, and I'll be back with the restart soon. 
• 45'+4'

  Lincoln have a corner on the right side, and all the big guys are up from the back to try to nick one before half-time. It comes to Luke Waterfall, whose header has no juice behind it and is dealt with. 
• 45'+2'

  Ozil and Walcott combine as the German spots the forward open on the right. He swings in a cross that Ramsey attacks on the spin. Airball. 
• 45'+1'

  Goal Theo Walcott
  WALCOTT GIVES ARSENAL THE LEAD! Giroud keeps it alive inside the area, and the forward links up with Gibbs to slot home an effort into the bottom corner. 
• 45'+1'

  Assist Kieran Gibbs
  Smart pass from the full-back. 
• 45'+1'

  Ozil lobs in a tantalising ball towards the back post. Raggett leaps and misses, which forces Farman to parry around the post at the last minute! 
• 45'

  Bellerin's cross is deflected on the way through, and the clearing header from Raggett falls for Ramsey inside the area. The Welsh midfielder tries to parabola it into the top shelf, but it's wide.
• 43'

  Giroud is on his feet and lucid enough to attack a cross from Gibbs, but he flicks it in the wrong direction and Lincoln can regain possession. Looks like the visitors will keep snuffing out Arsenal until half-time. 
• 41'

  Bellerin's cross slams against the body of a defender inside the box, but the appeal for a penalty blows away quicker than a gust of wind. Moments later, Raggett and Giroud crunch heads, leaving the French striker in need of medical attention. 

• 39'

  I'm a couple of continents away from the Emirates, and I can smell the frustration around the Emirates as Arsenal look like they turned up here by accident. Smells like mental strength. 
• 37'

  Yellow Card Laurent Koscielny
  Harsh yellow card awarded agaisnt Koscielny. Muldoon ran into the defender, who lost his balance and in the process, brought the striker down. 
• 34'

  Walcott does look the most likely source of a breakthrough for the Gunners. Sanchez squares the ball across the box, and the forward is onto it in a flash, letting fly with a low effort that takes a deflection and is swallowed by Farman. 
• 32'

  Rhead is patched up and back with us after some secret voodoo National League treatment - two cotton swabs up the nose. Give me that over a compromised sideline pie for non-league charm any day. 
• 32'

  Rhead has been in the wars, and catches an elbow in the face from Koscielny. It's the type of contact we've seen between him and the Arsenal defence in the game already. For the second time, he's down and the game is stopped for him to be treated. 
• 30'

  LINCOLN NEARLY AHEAD! Tremendous run from Nathan Arnold down the right, as he leaves Koscielny for dead inside the area, only to see his finish parried around the post by Cech!
• 27'

  SubstitutionAlex Oxlade-ChamberlainMesut Özil
  Yep. Oxlade-Chamberlain is off with what I can only presume is a knock. He looks distressed. Ozil is on. 
• 26'

  Ozil looks stripped and ready for action. In fact, he's praying - which he usually does right before kick-off when he starts. Early injury? 
• 26'

  Thankfully for the Cowley brothers, Rhead has returned to his feet after grimacing on the turf for a minute after that Xhaka challenge. The referee can resume the game. 
• 24'

  Yellow Card Granit Xhaka
  An Arsenal attack breaks down when Sanchez sells Xhaka short with a poor backwards pass, and the Swiss international misses the ball completely as he slides into Rhead. Deserved booking. 
• 23'

  Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has had something of a resurgence this season, tries a first-time ball over the top to get Alexis Sanchez down the left-hand side. It goes out of play, and typifies Arsenal's sloppy start to the game. 
• 21'

  Bellerin and Walcott combine down the right-hand side, but the latter's early ball is headed away with some conviction by Sean Raggett. Lincoln have everybody back at the moment. 
• 18'

  You have to give Lincoln credit for trying to play football. They're not just some overweight non-league hoofers - there's been some eye-catching first-time passes that have been attempted to isolate Muldoon. 
• 16'

  Well Danny and Nicky Cowley did say that they'll break this game down into nine 10-minute periods. They were largely in control of the first of those, but it's getting a lot harder for them now. 
• 14'

  WOODWORK! Arsenal curse under their breath as Theo Walcott comes within a hair of sending the hosts in front. He struck a lovely first-time volley from the top of the box that Paul Farman did excellently to turn around the post. 

• 11'

  Arsenal are slowly starting to get comfortable on the ball, and a run down the wing from Hector Bellerin leads to a low cross for Aaron Ramsey to attack just inside the box, but he slides it the wrong side of the post. 
• 9'

  Alex Woodyard swings in a deep cross from the right flank that Laurent Koscielny rises well to clear. He and Mustafi will have to keep light on their toes because the aerial bombardment will continue until the final whistle. 
• 7'

  This is a positive start from Lincoln, and I'm not being condescending. Arsenal haven't been on the ball for more than a few passes, and have not been able to advance out of their own half. 
• 5'

  Well Anthony Taylor has pulled over Rhead for the first time, but it surely won't be the last as he catches Shkodran Mustafi in the face with his forearm. No booking, and the defender is back on the pitch after some treatment. 
• 3'

  Good start from Lincoln, who win a free-kick in a solid position inside the Arsenal half. You would expect set-pieces to be their main route forward, but referee Anthony Taylor spotted an infraction and it's an Arsenal free-kick. 
• 1'

  Rock on. 
• The 9000 or so travelling Lincoln fans know that the odds are stacked heavily against them, but could you imagine the scenes if they pulled it off? And picture what that would mean for Arsenal and Wenger - although knowing their board, they'll probably have a delicious two-year contract ready for him post-match with a side of mental strength. 
• Lincoln have their very own lower-league Giroud in the shape of Matt Rhead. And I mean shape - the man is 6'3 and a shade over 230 pounds. His strike partner Jack Muldoon will look to profit from any knock-downs. Josh Ginnely and Lee Angol are cup-tied and miss out. 
• No messing around from Wenger. The FA Cup is Arsenal's only realistic shot at a trophy this season and he's responded with virtually a first-choice XI. Mesut Ozil is on the bench while Petr Cech and Keiran Gibbs come in for David Ospina and Nacho Monreal. 
• Lincoln subs: Marriott, Margetts, McMenemy, McCombe, Ward, Calder, Etheridge. 
• Lincoln (4-4-2): Farman; Raggett, Waterfall, Hawkridge, Habergham; Wood, Power, Arnold, Woodyard; Muldoon, Rhead. 
• Arsenal subs: Gabriel, Lucas Perez, Ozil, Iwobi, Monreal, Martinez, Coquelin. 
• Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Gibbs; Ramsey, Xhaka; Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez; Giroud. 
• By setting foot on the Emirates pitch today, Lincoln will make history as the first non-league team to play in the quarter-final of the FA Cup in over a century. They're currently first in the National League, and on track for promotion to League Two. 
• Arsenal are nearly 100 places above Lincoln in the league pyramid, but you wouldn't know it based on the toxic atmosphere around the club at the moment. Yet another embarrassing collapse in Europe and a faltering top-four challenge has seen even the staunchest 'Arsene Knows Best' patriots losing their faith. 
• Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final tie between Arsenal and Lincoln City at the Emirates. The Gunners, and Arsene Wenger especially, are under fire, and will look right the ship against the National League visitors.