Mansfield 1-2 Arsenal: Max Doman and Marley Salmon make FA Cup history

Arsenal The team needed their powerful weapons to come off the bench to secure victory over strugglers Mansfield Town 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.

Arteta made nine changes to the side that beat Brighton in the Premier League and named Marley Salmon and Max Doman, both 16, in the starting line-up.

It was Salmon’s first start for the club while Doman became the youngest player to start an FA Cup match for Arsenal at 16 years and 66 days.

This was also the first time that a Premier League team had named two players aged 16 or under in the starting lineup in any competition.

Arteta used an unfamiliar three-man defence, with the Gunners coach saying the players trained in the formation “once” and for “10 minutes.”

Salmon started at right centre-back, with Doman in an advanced midfield role as Arsenal came under intense pressure after Mansfield’s impressive start.

The hosts had eight shots in the first 15 minutes, the most Arsenal have faced in a match during that period this season.

Noni Madueke’s opener was ruled out by a challenging Mansfield after the break before substitute Eze scored the winner, as Arsenal survived a major FA Cup scare.

“Very proud of him [Dowman]“Also very proud of Marley,” Arteta said when asked about the duo.

“Two 16-year-olds starting in the FA Cup. That tells us a lot about them, about their character and the quality they have. And Max, I thought, was exceptional.”

The win was Arsenal’s 35th win of the season in all competitions, more than any other team in Europe, and the most wins they have achieved in a single season under Arteta (previously 34 in 2023-24).