Holders Arsenal crash out of Cup to Nottingham Forest
FA CUP holders Arsenal suffered their first third round defeat for 22 years as they crashed to 4-2 defeat by second-tier Nottingham Forest in a sizzling City Ground clash yesterday.
The Gunners fielded a much-changed side from the one that drew with Chelsea in midweek and with manager Arsene Wenger watching from the stands because of a touchline ban.
Eric Lichaj scored twice for the hosts either side of a Per Mertesacker equaliser to give Forest a 2-1 halftime lead.
Ben Brereton, one of seven players aged 23 or younger in the Forest side, made it 3-1 from the penalty spot in the 64th minute.
Danny Welbeck took advantage of an error to pull a goal back for Arsenal with 12 minutes left, but Forest were awarded another penalty which Kieran Dowell converted.
It is the first time Arsenal have lost in the third round since 1996 and the first time since Wenger took over.
Elsewhere, Harry Kane took his goal tally for the season in all competitions to 27 with a quickfire double in Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 victory over third-tier AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup third round at Wembley yesterday.
Premier League team Tottenham were labouring to break down the visitors before Kane effectively sealed the tie with goals in the 64th and 66th minutes. Jan Vertonghen added his side’s third.
Wimbledon had proved stubborn opposition until a Moussa Sissoko cross found Kane who slid in to prod the ball home. Kane made it 2-0 when he turned in an attempted shot by teammate Kyle Walker-Peters from close range.
Vertonghen fired home a spectacular third goal from distance eight minutes later for his first Tottenham goal for four years.
AFC Wimbledon, founded in 2002 to replace the existing club that became Milton Keynes Dons and who have worked their way back up through the various leagues, came close to scoring in the first half when Jimmy Abdou’s shot hit the bar.
Meanwhile, Newport County provided the weekend’s third sizeable FA Cup shock as the Welsh club knocked out former winners Leeds United with a last-gasp 2-1 victory. The fourth-tier outfit bridged a 53-place gap in the standings as substitute Shawn McCoulsky, the day after his 21st birthday, condemned the Championship side to a humbling defeat with a powerful 89th-minute header.
On Saturday 1987 winners Coventry City, who are now languishing in the fourth tier, knocked out Premier League strugglers Stoke City by the same score – a result that cost Stoke boss Mark Hughes his job.
Top flight West Ham United also flirted with danger at League One high-flyers Shrewsbury Town, escaping with a 0-0 draw after being largely outplayed.