Arsenal beat Everton at the Emirates to progress in the FA Cup, although the Toffees can be pleased with a battling, enterprising performance.
Arsenal advanced to the FA Cup semifinals with a thrilling win at home against Everton. The Toffees fought them all the way, responding well to the Gunners' early goal and ensuring that the outcome of an end-to-end game remained in doubt all the way until the final ten minutes, but the hosts' cutting edge in front of goal proved the difference in what was a very good match.
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Everton got off to a bright start, pinning their hosts back in their own half virtually from kickoff, and indeed might have taken the lead within the first five minutes. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain went in far too hard on Steven Pienaar on the left flank, and from the subsequent free kick Sylvain Distin nearly converted a loose ball only for Mathieu Flamini to scramble away.
Arsenal's response to the early pressure was to score. Santi Cazorla made the most of a slip from James McCarthy in midfield to surge through the centre, and with Seamus Coleman caught out of position, Mesut Ozil was free. The German was found with an inch-perfect pass, and dispatched an equally perfect left-footed shot past Joel Robles and into the far corner.
The Gunners were invigorated by the goal, forcing two decent saves in the next few minutes. Furthermore, Joel was looking incredibly shaky -- he was doing well at getting in the way of shots but was a complete disaster on crosses, drawing the ire of his defence punching when he should have been catching. At one point, he even contrived to swipe a Bacary Sagna delivery onto his own crossbar, a stunt that was inches away from going on blooper reels for the next few decades.
Despite their goalkeeper's misadventures, Everton were still playing well, and creating chances. Sagna could well have conceded a penalty when he went straight through Pienaar after the winger had scuffed Kevin Mirallas' excellent cutback well wide, but the Toffees would manage to go into the second half level regardless, thanks to the easiest goal Romelu Lukaku would ever score.
Gareth Barry threw himself into a block at the edge of Everton's penalty area, and the ball broke kindly for Ross Barkley to power his way up the pitch. With Lukaku drawing the centre backs towards the ball, Mirallas made a run to the back post, and Barkley did superbly to pick him out with a low cross. The Belgian's shot was badly scuffed, but that wrong-footed by Lukas Fabianski and Sagna, leaving Lukaku to control and tap in from a yard out.
The loanee could easily have added another as halftime loomed. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain played an erratic ball backwards, and suddenly the visitors had a three-on-two break. But Lukaku delayed his shot too long, allowing Oxlade-Chamberlain to make a last-ditch recovery tackle. That was just one of a set of wasted opportunities for the Toffees, who saw both Mirallas and Barkley miss chances while Arsenal's defence wobbled.
They'd come to rue their profligacy. Twenty minutes into the second half, the Gunners were once again in front. Barry upended Oxlade-Chamberlain in the box, Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot, and Mikel Arteta -- recently seen writing around in agony after a severe foot injury -- fired home to reestablish Arsenal's lead. Then he did so again, because substitute Olivier Giroud had encroached, forcing a retake.
Everton did their best to fight back, but their hopes were finally dashed eight minutes from time as Tomas Rosicky and Sagna combined down the left, the latter's cutback eventually being tucked home at the near post by Giroud. And Giroud finished off the win after Ozil found him with a fiendish flick, smashing in to make it 4-1 and securing progression to the semifinals.
Arsenal starting lineup (4-2-3-1):Lukasz Fabianski; Kieran Gibbs, Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker, Bacary Sagna; Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Flamini; Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Tomas Rosicky 78'); Yaya Sanogo (Olivier Giroud 61').
Goals: Ozil 7', Arteta 71' (p), Giroud 83' 85'.
Everton starting lineup (4-2-3-1):Joel Robles; Leighton Baines, Sylvain Distin, John Stones, Seamus Coleman; Gareth Barry, James McCarthy; Steven Pienaar (Leon Osman 76'), Ross Barkley, Kevin Mirallas (Aidan McGeady 76'); Romelu Lukaku.
Goals: Lukaku 32'.