Mansfield 1 Arsenal 2 – History-Making Teenagers, Madueke’s Milestone and Eze’s Thunderbolt Send Gunners Through

Field Mill, 7 March 2026 – Arsenal’s quadruple quest survived a classic FA Cup scare as Eberechi Eze’s 66th-minute rocket clinched a 2-1 fifth-round win at Mansfield Town, sparing the Premier League leaders the humiliation of a giant-killing and propelling them into next month’s quarter-finals.

The score-line, however, tells only half the story. Nigel Clough’s League One battlers, 59 rungs below the Gunners on the English pyramid, matched their illustrious visitors for long spells, striking the woodwork once and forcing Kepa Arrizabalaga into a string of smart saves before Will Evans’ leveller briefly ignited dreams of a repeat of their fourth-round upset of Burnley.

Yet for all the drama, the night will be remembered for two pieces of history. Mikel Arteta’s side became the first Premier League club ever to name two 16-year-olds in a senior starting XI, handing full debuts to midfielder Max Dowman and defender Marli Salmon. Dowman, the youngest Champions League player on record, almost marked the occasion with a goal inside four minutes, only to be denied by Liam Roberts’ sharp recovery save. Salmon, composed for much of the evening, was culpable when his under-hit pass allowed Evans to intercept and equalise five minutes after the restart.

Noni Madueke had earlier opened the scoring, curling a left-footed beauty into Roberts’ top-left corner for Arsenal’s 100th goal of the campaign in all competitions – the earliest they have reached the milestone since 1952-53 and only the third time any club in Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues has done so this term after Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

The hosts refused to wilt. Evans, introduced at the interval, needed four minutes to punish Salmon and Cristhian Mosquera’s hesitancy, rifling low beyond Arrizabalaga. Kyle Knoyle’s spectacular clearance off the line from Gabriel Jesus preserved parity before the Spaniard thwarted Evans again. With anxiety growing, Arteta turned to Eze; within four minutes the substitute collected a loose ball 20 yards out and lashed an unstoppable drive beyond Roberts.

Mansfield continued to press – Saka, on for Dowman, was twice denied by Roberts – but Arsenal clung on, setting up a Champions League last-16 trip to Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday with their four-trophy dream intact.

Arteta, whose side have now scored 100-plus goals in three consecutive seasons, praised his teenage trail-blazers. “Two 16-year-olds starting in the FA Cup says everything about their personality,” he said. “Max is the youngest ever to start in this competition – that’s 155 years of history. I’m very proud.”

The night ended with Arsenal’s name in the hat, Mansfield’s supporters applauding their heroes off a pitch that, despite pre-match concerns, never became the leveller many predicted. The FA Cup, once again, delivered jeopardy, jubilation and a pair of fresh-faced record-breakers.