Mansfield 1-2 Arsenal: Max Dowman and Marli Salmon make FA Cup history

Superb Eze goal saves Arsenal from Mansfield scare Arsenal needed their big guns to come off the bench to secure a win over a battling Mansfield Town side in the FA Cup fifth round, but it was two 16-year-olds who made history. Eberechi Eze scored the winner as Arsenal beat the League One side 2-1 to move into the quarter-finals for the first time since 2020, which is when they last won the competition in Mikel Arteta's first season in charge. Arteta made nine changes to the side that beat Brighton in the Premier League and named Marli Salmon and Max Dowman, who are both 16, in the starting line-up. It was Salmon's first start for the club while Dowman became the youngest player to start a game for Arsenal in the FA Cup at 16 years and 66 days old. It was also the first time a Premier League side had named two players aged 16 or under in a starting XI in any competition. Arteta used an unfamiliar three-man defence, with the Gunners boss saying the players had trained in the formation "once" and for "10 minutes". Salmon started at right centre-back, with Dowman in an advanced midfield role as Arsenal came under intense pressure after a bright Mansfield start. The hosts had eight sho

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