BLACKPOOL ARSENAL GOOD WILL HUNTING Joe’s double sees Gunners coast it at seaside
UNAI EMERY will not forget his first trip to Blackpool and his debut in the FA Cup.
There was the Blackpool fan having a sit-down on top of the Arsenal team bus and the protest by home supporters outside Bloomfield Road.
Add to that three well-worked goals by his team for a hardearned win on a dodgy pitch in a sparsely populated stadium, and the Gunners boss has plenty to remember from his visit to the land of kiss-me-quick hats.
It was tense for the visitors at times, but comfortable in the end, with Joe Willock celebrating two first- half goals and Alex Iwobi easing the Londoners into the fourth round.
Emery enjoyed his ride on the Big One. No, not the famed white- knuckle roller- coaster down the road on the Pleasure Beach, but the FA Cup.
The most famous cup competition in the world has been won by Arsenal a record 13 times.
Emery’s predecessor, Arsene Wenger, collected seven and the new man in charge at the Emirates has taken the first small step on the road to his first.
He will not have a more madcap introduction to football life at Blackpool, where fans have been protesting for years against the Oyston family’s ownership.
It is a world away from those heady Premier League days under Ian Holloway when life was fun and the football fervent.
Against Arsenal, the contrast could not have been sharper with boss Terry Mcphillips outlining before kick-off what was needed from his League One side.
They were firm underdogs he said, not surprisingly, and had nothing to lose. But they had nothing to fear and he told his troops to take full advantage of the conditions with a pitch used non-stop at youth level and for
Arsenal have progressed from the FA Cup third round in 22 of their last 23 attempts, the only failure was last season at Nottingham Forest.
Joe Willock (19y 138d) is the youngest Arsenal star to score in the FA Cup since January 2010 (Aaron Ramsey against West Ham, 19y 8d). training. Words of wisdom, but of little consequence when facing a team rejuvenated by Emery.
A reshuffled Gunners line-up took little time to settle, with Eddie Nketiah going close and chances either side of Petr Cech s av i ng f r om Armand Gnanduillet.
And Arsenal were ahead in the 11th minute when Aaron Ramsey’s f lighted free- kick deflected on to an upright and Willock followed up to finish with his head.
It was 2-0 after 37 minutes when Carl Jenkinson, a late replacement when Laurent Koscielny was crocked in the warm-up, delivered across the face of the goal.
Nketiah got a touch on and Willock was alert to somehow squeeze the ball home and give the 5,218 travelling fans more to cheer as they thought about heading for half-time cuppas.
Even before they descended on the snack bars, Nketiah had a golden chance to end the game as a contest, but fluffed his lines.
Blackpool worked their socks off at the start of the second half in an attempt to get back into the game, but composure was absent when it mattered.
Defender Michael Nottingham found himself with the goal at his mercy, but will still be kicking himself this morning over how
he blazed high into the stands instead of giving Blackpool a lifeline.
It was evident the Gunners had eased off and suddenly found themselves on the back foot against the up- and- at-’ em Seasiders.
Blackpool keeper Mark Howard’s evening came to an abrupt end in the 68th minute when he pulled up with what looked a muscle problem.
His replacement, Christoffer Mafoumbi, was untroubled until the 82nd minute when he did well to save from Ramsey only for Iwobi – who looked to have been offside from his team- mate’s initial shot – pounced on the rebound to seal victory.
It could have been more in the remaining eight minutes, with Arsenal once more finding their feet and posing a constant threat.
But the stand-in keeper denied them during that late flurry, with Blackpool scrapping all the way to the final whistle to cheer the few of their fans who had bothered to stay on and watch another defeat.
For them, it was another day to forget on the Lancashire coast – but not for Emery.