Key events
“Difficult environment to play in today. We did what we needed to do,” says match-winner Eberechi Eze. His goal was some hit, shifting the ball on to his right foot and thumping it in at the near post.
A cracking effort from Mansfield. They had their moment when Will Evans raced through to equalise shortly after he came on at half-time but they competed brilliantly throughout. Nigel Clough and his players are taking the acclaim from their supporters, the vast majority of whom have stayed to clap them off. A professional job from Arsenal.
Full time: Mansfield 1-2 Arsenal
Arsenal are through to the quarter-finals, the quadruple is still on. But boy did Mansfield make it difficult. Eberechi Eze’s second-half strike settles this proper, proper Cup tie.
90+5 min: Martinelli should end Mansfield’s hopes but his shot is wide of the far post. Roberts lumps it forward for one last attack …
90+4 min: Hewitt’s throw is eventually headed on to Irow, who can’t divert his header either side of Kepa and the goalkeeper gratefully gathers. Decent chance, but is it the last?
90+3 min: Evans brings down a long ball, gets past Dixon and Mosquera is there to clear out for a throw. Hewitt lines it up …
90+2 min: Lewis almost plays in Irow but it’s cut out on the edge of the box. Nothing much else is happening.
90+1 min: Hincapié wins a goal-kick near his own corner flag. Kepa takes it in his own time.
90 min: Madueke spanks a shot very high and very wide. It’s a throw-in, in fact.
Six minutes added on.
89 min: Hewitt launches a throw into the box for Mansfield but Arsenal bring it clear. Madueke forces a corner off Blake-Tracey that Arsenal will certainly not rush.
88 min: Evans is late on Eze, clipping his heels and jarring his ankle a bit. Arsenal launch it forward but Jesus is penalised for handball.
87 min: A final change for Mansfield. Knoyle, whose goal-line clearance has kept Mansfield in it, is replaced by Hewitt.
86 min: Mosquera stops a half-decent Mansfield attack by stepping in on Lewis. Arsenal just imposing some control on the game, maybe for the first time.
84 min: Roberts saves from Saka! Arsenal look to finish things as Martinelli and Madueke combine on the break. Saka works a shooting chance in the box and his low effort is kept out by Roberts’ legs. Mansfield are still in it.
82 min: Clough rolls the dice. Victor Adeboyejo and Spurs loanee Oliver Irow are on for Oates and McLaughlin.
80 min: Lewis’s corner comes to nothing. Mansfield ready themselves for a final push – they are getting plenty of the ball with Arsenal happy to sit in. McLaughlin is next to go down in the area wanting a penalty – his dive is theatrical and deservedly brings a booking for simulation. “Same old Mansfield, always cheating,” comes the chant from the away end.
78 min: Akins goes into the book for throwing an arm in Hincapié’s face. Mansfield want a penalty after Mosquera slides in on Oates in the box – a corner is given. It looks like he gets the ball as well as a bit of the man. VAR agrees, no penalty.
76 min: Calafiori hits the deck in front of some skeptical Mansfield fans. It stops Mansfield’s momentum a little bit but he has actually picked up an injury. Jaden Dixon, 18, comes on in his place. Bukayo Saka is also on, for Dowman.
74 min: Lewis chucks it into the box and Mosquera gets up and under it. Madueke looks to get a shot away in the Mansfield box but McLaughlin eases him out the way. Eze is shown a yellow card for a foul in midfield.
73 min: Kepa gets a shoulder barge from Oates as he tries to clear. Mansfield bring it forward again and Hincapié gives away a throw-in that Lewis will launch into the box …
71 min: Lewis’s free-kick is flicked on by Hincapié and it’s a Mansfield corner. Nørgaard heads away.
70 min: You have to commend Mansfield for continuing to pile players forward. Calafiori goes into the book for delaying the restart after Oates is brought down.
68 min: What a time to score as well. Mansfield had their tails up after another good spell. Eze, the scorer of the winner in last season’s final, shows the way.
GOAL! Mansfield 1-2 Arsenal (Eze 66)
Wow, emphatic! An absolutely thumping strike from Eze flies past Roberts, who can just do a superman dive in its wake.
65 min: Inches away for Evans! Oates’s cross is flicked on by Lewis and Evans sticks out a boot to try to get on the end of it and comes oh so close. Kepa gathers.
64 min: Mansfield clear off the line! Arsenal have the numerical advantage on the counter and Madueke plays in Dowman inside the box. The youngster cuts it back for Jesus, whose shot is slowed by Roberts and then headed off the line by Knoyle.
62 min: Arsenal make changes – Eze and Timber replace Havertz and Salmon. Mansfield also dip into their bench to bring on Aaron Lewis for Abbott.
61 min: No penalty! VAR stick with the referee’s original decision. Seems fair enough but I doubt it would have been reserved had it been given in the first place. Relief for Arsenal.
60 min: Shouts for a Mansfield penalty! The ball breaks loose in the area and Abbott, the Spurs loanee, is pulled down by Salmon. It’s such a risk and VAR are checking …
59 min: Big opening for Mansfield! Reed has so much time on the edge of the box to decide whether to play in Akins or shoot himself. He chooses the latter and it’s a proper daisy-cutter and Kepa can throw his cap on it.
57 min: Will Evans, the former Cardiff Met University student, is no stranger to goals of that magnitude. He scored an equaliser for Newport against Manchester United in the FA Cup third round a couple of years ago.
55 min: Dowman shows his considerable class with some fast feet that evade Oshilaja on the edge of the box. His crafty low shot is then kept out by Roberts. Calafiori heads the resulting corner over the bar.
53 min: What a turn-up and a bit of a learning curve for Salmon. The 16-year-old was partly at fault for that goal but Evans was brilliant, driving past Mosquera and keeping his cool when it came to the finish. Mansfield’s chairman and chief executive married duo share a kiss in the stands. The romance of the Cup.
GOAL! Mansfield 1-1 Arsenal (Evans 50)
The sub turns super as he hauls Mansfield level! The roof comes off! Salmon sells Mosquera short in his own half, Will Evans runs on to the loose ball, sprints past Mosquera and finishes low past Kepa. What a moment! He’s only been on five minutes.
49 min: Mansfield bravely leave two up from Arsenal’s corner and it drags Martinelli back to halfway. Madueke and Dowman work it well and Madueke’s cross is cut out by Blake-Tracey.
48 min: After Oates tries to barge his way through the entire Arsenal backline, the visitors break at speed. Calafiori wins a corner, it comes to Dowman and his delightful digged-out cross is headed behind again.
Restart
We’re back under way and Mansfield have made a change – Will Evans is on for Tyler Roberts.
Have Mansfield got enough to get back into this? Arsenal’s departure from their just-go-out-and-play formation to a more rigid 4-3-3 has stifled the League One side a fair bit. Still, they looked like scoring in spells during the first half. Never say never.
England are playing Iceland (yes, yes) not far away from Mansfield – at the City Ground in Nottingham. It’s Women’s World Cup qualifying and it’s live here:
Here are the day’s other fixtures in the FA Cup. Well, there’s not many – and none at 3pm.
Tomorrow’s games:
Liverpool are already through to the quarters after beating Wolves last night. West Ham host Brentford on Monday night after the draw.
Half-time: Mansfield 0-1 Arsenal
Well, Mansfield have been nothing short of excellent and there is plenty of applause from their supporters at the whistle. Noni Madueke’s stunning goal, a touch of class on a difficult pitch, separates the two as they head down the tunnel.
45+2 min: Mansfield have the final chance of the half, McLaughlin swinging in a cross in for Akins to head over. Hincapié did just enough to put him off.
45 min: Dowman finds space to turn in midfield and feeds a ball towards Jesus but Oshilaja intercepts. He wants his goalkeeper to clean up but, after a few tetchy moments, gets the ball to safety himself.
Two minutes of added time.
43 min: Mansfield must stay in this until half-time. Madueke threatens again, inside the box this time, but skews his shot well wide at the near post. The Arsenal fans sing about Wembley.
