Arsenal 2 Middlesbrough 0
LONDON // Arsenal have a capacity to make football enviably easy, which can render them such a frustrating side.
In games like yesterday’s fifth-round FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough, though, it enables them to endear and entertain in equal measure.
They swept the Championship side aside, courtesy of Olivier Giroud’s three-minute double and yet, terrific as both goals were, perhaps the most illustrative moment came in the opening minute when Alexis Sanchez indulged in some juggling.
In another context, it would have looked like misguided arrogance but Arsenal’s subsequent performance showed the Chilean’s confidence was justified.
They sauntered into the FA Cup quarter-finals and, while this has been a season of shocks, perhaps only Liverpool or Manchester United could stop them from retaining it.
Middlesbrough have made their own contribution to the elimination of the elite but the conquerors of Manchester City were unable to stage a sequel.
The only semblance of a repeat was another terrific display by the Spanish goalkeeper Tomas Meijas, who denied Santi Cazorla, Giroud, Kieran Gibbs, Sanchez and substitute Theo Walcott goals, but his was a damage-limitation exercise.
Middlesbrough were outclassed and Arsenal became a rarity in the current competition – a top side who performed to their potential.
“We controlled the game,” manager Arsene Wenger said. “Our fluency was great and our movement was good.”
Also, their plans were positive. Short of central midfielders, Wenger selected one of the most attack-minded sides even an idealist of his calibre has ever named, cramming Giroud, Cazorla, Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck into the same starting 11.
As if that was not threat enough, the left-back Gibbs spent much of the match doing his best impression of a winger.
Arsenal made their breakthrough in exquisite fashion. With geometric precision, Santi Cazorla bisected the Boro defence to find the overlapping Gibbs. He squared for Giroud to tuck in a low finish.
The Frenchman doubled his tally to secure victory within the first half-hour, volleying in imperiously when Sanchez caught Middlesbrough out with a quickly-taken corner.
“It is a question of coordination between two players and quick intelligence and good finishing,” Wenger said.
Giroud once had the chance to join Middlesbrough. Well as they have done in this season’s Championship, it is safe to assume the Frenchman has no regrets.
That was Giroud’s 10th goal in a campaign when he has only started 12 games. The target man is increasingly integral but remains underrated.
Smooth as his finishes were, the silkier skills came from others with the stand-in skipper Cazorla maintaining his terrific form as the controller in chief in the midfield.
Middlesbrough could not stop him. “It is impossible,” said his compatriot, Boro manager Aitor Karanka.
His side were unable to prevent Arsenal from chalking up a seventh win in eight games for Arsenal, who gave a debut to Gabriel Paulista, their new £11 million (Dh62.3m) centre-back.
The Brazilian’s afternoon included a booking and a tremendous last-ditch tackle on George Friend, while he was outjumped by Kike when the Boro striker hit the post in the 93rd minute.
But this was not about Arsenal’s defence as much as their defence of the trophy.
Bradford City 2 Sunderland 0
Bradford coach Phil Parkinson said he believes his side have every chance of extending their FA Cup odyssey all the way to Wembley after claiming another Premier League scalp at Valley Parade yesterday.
Billy Clarke’s deflected opener on three minutes paved the way for Bradford to move within one more win of a place in the semi-finals and former Sunderland striker Jon Stead sealed victory with a 61st minute strike.
Bradford had stunned Chelsea with 4-2 win earlier in the cup and Parkinson said: “If we get our approach right we’ve got a chance against anybody, and we proved that today.
“There was always a danger that because we beat Chelsea everyone would expect us to win today, and we had to guard against that and go in there with the underdog mentality.
“Maybe we took Sunderland by surprise. We made it an uncomfortable afternoon for them, which you’ve got to do against a top side.”
Meanwhile, Parkinson’s counterpart, Gus Poyet, was left to round on referee Kevin Friend and the media. Poyet clearly took issue with the reporting of his comments about the club’s fans, telling the post-match media conference: “The problem is you, not me. I invite every Sunderland fan and people around the club not to listen to any one of you – only to me.”
Aston Villa 2 Leicester City 1
Scott Marshall revealed Tim Sherwood’s half-time pep talk inspired Aston Villa to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Leicester City.
Marshall, Villa’s first-team coach, was in charge after Wednesday’s sacking of Paul Lambert but conceded the new manager Sherwood made his presence felt. Leandro Bacuna and Scott Sinclair then netted in the second half to send Villa into the last eight for the first time in five years.
“He came in and made a couple of points to the lads, a couple of bits and pieces for everyone,” Marshall said. “I thought the boys delivered that in the second half and were very good.
“He was there and there was good information to the group, there’s a football knowledge there which comes with a lifetime in the game.”
Andrej Kramaric scored in stoppage time for Leicester.
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