Gunners progress to the FA Cup 5th round despite late pressure from Bournemouth

A comfortable first-half performance sent Arsenal into the FA Cup Fifth Round.

The Gunners held their nerve despite Sam Surridge’s stoppage-time strike to beat Bournemouth 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium.

Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal the lead in the opening five minutes. It all began when Joe Willock turned away from Bournemouth midfielder Lewis Cook, he found Martinelli, who found Saka, who’s shot rifled in off the crossbar.

Willock almost increased the away side’s lead in the 20th minute, when he got away from Dan Gosling and Nathan Ake, but Mark Travers was there to deny him.

But just before the half-hour mark, the Gunners doubled their lead with some great play. Willock and Saka involved once again involved, Willock played a long ball to Saka whose low driven cross fell to Eddie Nketiah who tapped it in. That’s Nketiah’s first goal since his return from his loan spell at Leeds United.

It was almost 3-0 straight from the kick-off. Nketiah went on a darting but he had his feet tangled and couldn’t release a shot. But Nicholas Pepe would take the shot instead, but he fired it wide of the post.

Bournemouth was far from brilliant in the first 45. But they came out fighting after the break. Jack Simpson almost got one back for the south coast outfit after Arsenal keeper Emi Martinez punched it into the Bournemouth defender.

But Arsenal could have scored a third ten minutes from time. Some casual play between Simon Francis and Steve Cook almost led to Cook putting it into his own net.

It was a real stop and start match because of players from both sides going down, most notably Shkodran Mustafi where he was stretchered off, after his collision with his teammate Martinez. This resulted in eight minutes additional time after 90 minutes.

And Bournemouth would get one back in the 4th minute of stoppage time. Francis’ cross was not dealt with by the Gunners and it fell to Surridge to make it 2-1

Bournemouth then they had taken it to a replay. Martinez felt he dealt with another one of the Cherries’ crosses, but he punched it into Lewis Cook who blasted it over the bar.

It, therefore, finished 2-1 Arsenal, they go through to round five, where the face Bournemouth’s south coast rivals Portsmouth at Fratton Park in March.

For Bournemouth, their target is to make sure they maintain their Premier League status and avoid relegation back to the Championship.