Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal were made to work hard for their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after a 2-1 win over Mansfield.
A heavily rotated Arsenal side initially appeared on course for a comfortable afternoon when Noni Madueke broke the deadlock four minutes before half-time.
The winger collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area and curled a precise left-footed effort into the top corner.
However, Mansfield responded almost immediately after the interval. Substitute Will Evans capitalised on a loose pass from Marli Salmon, drove forward and finished past goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to bring the home side level.
On a difficult pitch, Arsenal struggled to find rhythm for long periods but eventually regained control of the match thanks to a moment of quality from Eberechi Eze.
Introduced from the bench, the midfielder struck the winning goal to secure progression for the visitors.
Youngster Max Dowman impressed on his return to the side after a lengthy absence, though the afternoon was not without concern for Arteta after injuries to Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard.
Speaking after the match, Arteta praised the atmosphere and the challenge presented by Mansfield.
“It was a proper FA Cup game,” he said.
“Credit to Mansfield, the stadium, the atmosphere that the fans created, there was a bit of banter. A great atmosphere as well for them to keep pushing the team. And they made it really difficult for us.
“You have to be much more ruthless in front of goal than we were today, because we have four or five big open chances that we didn’t convert.”
“So if that’s the case, then the margin becomes smaller. You give hope to the opposition. Obviously, we made a mistake on the goal as well that cost us the momentum, and gave the belief to them.”
“But overall, I’m happy with the performance. We had two 16-year-olds in the starting lineup, I don’t know if it ever happened? I’m really proud of them.”
The victory keeps Arsenal competing on multiple fronts this season, something Arteta believes is helping maintain engagement throughout the squad.
“I think everybody feels involved. Obviously, we’re playing on four fronts.”
“We have all the desire that game by game we can start to be a little bit closer to the things that we can achieve, that’s what we have to keep.”
Arsenal will discover their quarter-final opponents when the FA Cup draw takes place on Monday evening.
