Arsenal end Lincoln’s fairytale FA Cup run

When Arsene Wenger named a fullstrength line-up to face Lincoln City, any hopes the fifth-tier side had of competing with Arsenal should have been extinguished yesterday.

But the first non-league side to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals for 103 years defied the odds again, making their more illustrious opponents toil for 45 minutes before Theo Walcott scored.

After conceding five against Bayern Munich on Thursday, Arsenal scored five themselves — albeit against an English minnow — to avoid further embarrassment for Wenger on another day of fan protests against the manager.

With a 5-0 victory, Arsenal booked a trip to Wembley to give Wenger a chance of silverware in what could be his last season in charge.

Manchester City also reached the semifinals with a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough secured by goals from David Silva and Sergio Aguero.

Lincoln had already beaten Premier League opposition in Burnley along with two second-tier sides to earn their day out at one of Europe’s biggest clubs in front of 60,000 fans.

Lincoln almost took the lead early as right back Nathan Arnold cut inside Laurent Koscielny and sent a left- footed effort towards the top corner that required Petr Cech to produce a fine save. It required a stroke of luck for Arsenal to break down their opponents, as Walcott’s side-footed effort deflected off a defender out of the reach of impressive goalkeeper Paul Farman.

With Walcott’s goal having settled the nerves in the second half, Arsenal relaxed and Hector Bellerin set up Olivier Giroud for the second after the restart. A Kieran Gibbs cross was then deflected into his own net by Lincoln captain Luke Waterfall to extend Arsenal’s lead.

Alexis Sanchez added a fourth with a curling effort from outside the box before setting up Ramsey to add the fifth just three minutes later.

There were three Premier League games yesterday. Bournemouth beat West Ham 3-2, ending a nine-game winless run and lifting them six points clear of the relegation zone. Joshua King scored a hat-trick for Bournemouth. Everton cleaned up West Bromwich Albion 3-0, with Romelu Lukaku netting one to join Tottenham’s Harry Kane on top of the scorers’ board on 19. Oumar Niasse scored twice inside 10 minutes to move Hull within a point of safety with a 2-1 win over Swansea. — Agencies