Mansfield v Arsenal: FA Cup fifth round – live
Key events
Mansfield: Manager Nigel Clough, of course the son of Brian (who never won this trophy), has been speaking to Peter Lansley this week about his dad, his ‘therapet’ dog Bobbie and taking on the Premier League leaders today:
We can watch Arsenal for their last 10 games. It would just frighten the life out of us. We’ll do some rudimentary work on corners. We know roughly how they’re going to come in, whatever their personnel. But if top Premier League teams can’t deal with them, I don’t know how a bottom-half League One side is meant to. I don’t want the players worrying unduly. There’s only one ball coming in at any one time. Deal with it.
Team news: Dowman starts for Arsenal
First things first, let’s bring you the starting lineups from Field Mill.
Mansfield (3-4-1-2): L Roberts; Knoyle, Oshilaja, Blake-Tracey; Akins, Abbott, Reed, McLaughlin; Russell; T Roberts, Oates.
Mikel Arteta has named as many as six forwards in his XI and I’m not sure we’re going to work out the formation until the game starts. I’ll try anyway:
Arsenal (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga; Salmon, Nørgaard, Mosquera, Calafiori; Dowman, Havertz, Trossard; Madueke, Jesus, Martinelli
There are first senior starts for 16-year-olds Marli Salmon and Max Dowman.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Saturday’s early kick-off in the fifth round of the FA Cup – and what an intriguing tie it is. For Arsenal, the quadruple is on, even if the slightest mis-hap makes you feel like it’ll all fall apart. Could today be that day? Defeat at third-tier Mansfield would surely be the greatest FA Cup shock since, well, January.
Arsenal visit the One Call Stadium, AKA Field Mill, having already knocked out two lower-league teams this season in Portsmouth and Wigan. Let’s hope, for the neutrals (and my enthusiasm), Mansfield don’t concede four in the first half an hour like Wigan did in the last round. They say the pitch is a great leveller but with Arsenal’s aerial game, who knows, it could even work to their advantage.
Mansfield (16th in League One) don’t quite have the Cup pedigree of Portsmouth or Wigan. They are bidding to reach the quarters for the first time since 1969, when their manager Nigel Clough was tottering around as his dad managed Derby.
Kick-off is at 12.15pm (GMT). Feel free to get in touch with your favourite Cup memories, at Mansfield or otherwise, via email. This should be fun.
