Arsenal ease into FA Cup semis after beating Lincoln

Arsenal ended their woeful run over the past ten days to score a convincing 5-0 win over Lincoln City in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday.

Lincoln's Jonathan Jack Muldoon and Arsenal's Theo Walcott at the end of their quarterfinal match at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Paul Hackett/Reuters

The win eased pressure on Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who has faced calls for resignation following his team’s humiliating 10-2 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Given that Arsenal, a top Premier League team, was facing a fifth-tier side, it was supposed to have been a one-sided affair right from the word go. However, Lincoln held their opponents until first-half stoppage time when Theo Walcott put Arsenal ahead.

The goal opened the floodgates as Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey scored in the second half. An own goal by Luke Waterfall increased Arsenal’s victory margin.

Following the win, Wengers said he hasn't ruled out extending his Arsenal stint.
“Let’s not talk about me too much because that has happened a lot recently. I have shown in my life that I try to serve this club with complete commitment and I will do that as long as I am here,” Wenger said.

“I focus on my job. I always do that. I let other people judge my performances.”

He admitted that selecting a first choice line-up for Saturday's game gave his players back their belief after the Champions League trauma.

“We were a bit nervous today because confidence drops when you don't have a result. The team was unjustly criticised after our last game against Bayern,” he said.