We made it through to the last eight of the FA Cup after edging out Mansfield Town 2-1 on Saturday, and afterwards Mikel Arteta said he was proud of the way his players earned the victory.
We needed a second-half winner from Eberechi Eze to overcome the League One side, after they had drawn level soon after the break. The manager conceded we were made to work hard throughout the 90 minutes.
“Yes, and we knew that, but that’s the beauty of this competition,” Arteta said afterward. “There’s the magic, the context, the opposition, the pitch, the crowd, which I think they made it beautiful because they put so much energy, intensity, a bit of banter as well at times, and that’s the beauty of this competition.
“That’s why it is unique, that’s why everybody loves playing it, and you have to earn it, and it took a while to make sure that we had a game.”’
Arteta made nine changes for the game, and included 16 year olds Max Dowman and Marli Salmon in the starting line up – the first time a Premier League side had ever done that.
“They have a lot of personality, both of them, to play, and we are really proud that they made their debut today in the competition.”
The boss also had a word for Jaden Dixon, who came on for his Gunners debut late on. “He’s been doing really well. He’s been training with us lately, and with the absences that we had in the backline, he was an option, and he was ready to perform.”
Noni Madueke’s first half goal was our 100th of the season, from 46 goals. For comparison we brought up that milestone on April 20 last season.
“Yes, that’s a lot of goals,” the boss added, “and I think we have reached that number much earlier than last season, and especially with the amount of players, I think 19 now, the contributions to that, so that’s a massive weapon for the team. So, we need to continue to do that.”
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