Arsenal who have won the FA Cup a record twelve times, were clear favourites to register a thumping victory against the Red Imps who are the first non-league side to enter the quarter finals in 103 years of tournament’s history and did so with aplomb.
The fairy tale run of Lincoln came to an end as they suffered a 5-0 defeat against Arsene’s Arsenal who took no risks and fielded a strong Gunners’ team against the minnows.
Below are the Gunners stars rated from the fixture.
Petr Cech: 7
Nathan Arnold, the Lincoln forward, tricked his way into the box around half and hour mark and the veteran custodian had to react well to keep him out. He was untested otherwise.
Hector Bellerin: 8
Played in an advanced role and linked up well with the attackers. Had to offer little from a defensive point of view as the travellers failed to create such goal-bound threats.
Shkodran Mustafi: 6.5
Not a busy outing for the German as Lincoln failed to test the Gunners’ defence.
Laurent Koscielny: 6.5
Not a busy fixture for Koscielny either, as the Frenchman was largely untested by the Imps attackers.
Kieran Gibbs: 8
His overlapping runs and crosses troubled the Lincoln back-line. His near-post cross was turned past Paul Farman by defender Luke Waterfall to get Arsenal their third of the night. Played a brilliant one-two with Walcott and the latter scored the first goal of the game.
Granit Xhaka: 7
Controlled the game from the middle and came up with a composed and tidy display in midfield.
Aaron Ramsey: 8
The Welshman was handed a start after a long absence with injury and he marked his name in scoresheet with a simple tap-in at the far post followed by a number of missed opportunities.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 6
Started the game brightly. However, he limped off the field inside thirty minutes to be replaced by Mesut Ozil.
Theo Walcott: 8.5
Scored the opener in first half stoppage time after playing a one-two with Kieran Gibbs. Earlier, his volley came off the post as it was turned onto the upright by Farman.
Alexis Sanchez: 8
The Chilean bent the ball spectacularly into the far corner to score the Gunner’s fourth of the night.
Olivier Giroud: 8
Giroud finished from close range after a brilliant one-touch passing move by the Gunners and thus scored his fourth goal in his last four FA Cup starts. Was replaced by Lucas Perez around the 65th-minute mark.
Substitutes
Mesut Ozil: 6.5
Missed a few games due to illness. Was a little off-paced. However, a decent outing to get ready for the upcoming Premier League fixtures.
Francis Coquelin: 7
Came in place of Xhaka and did well to win possession in midfield.
Lucas Perez: 6
Made frequent movements inside the box, but failed to register his name on the scoresheet.
