Arsenal eliminates Man United from FA Cup

Discarded striker Danny Welbeck returned to haunt Manchester United by scoring the winner as Arsenal reached the FA Cup semifinals with an thrilling 2-1 victory at Old Trafford on Monday. After a lively start to the game, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ran through the home defense with a mazy dribble to tee up Nacho Monreal after 25 minutes, but Wayne Rooney’s diving header from Angel di Maria’s cross evened it up three minutes later. England’s Welbeck, who joined the Londoners in September after his United career stalled, pounced on a horrendous back pass by Antonio Valencia in the 61st minute to send the holder through. There seemed little danger as a high ball was pumped forward, but Phil Jones elected to chest the ball to Valencia who wafted a weak pass in the direction of ’keeper David De Gea. It never stood a chance and Welbeck clipped the ball round the Spaniard and rolled it into an empty net for only his third Arsenal goal since October. United, which will now ponder a second consecutive season without silverware, ended the match with 10 men after Angel Di Maria was red-carded in the 77th minute for grabbing the referee’s shirt just seconds after being booked for diving. With a Wembley semifinal against second tier Reading or third-tier Bradford City to come next month, Arsenal is favored to retain the trophy and claim a record 12th FA Cup. The other semifinal will be between Aston Villa and Liverpool or Blackburn Rovers.