Jose Antonio Reyes again came to Arsenal's FA Cup rescue as Arsene Wenger's
side were taken to the brink of embarrassment by Stoke.
The Premiership champions went behind to the valiant Championship side on the
stroke of half-time as defender Wayne Thomas scored only his eighth goal in 208
club appearances.
The Gunners continued to live dangerously with Ade Akinbiyi, who ran riot
through their depleted defence, striking the bar and Gael Clichy clearing off
the line from Chris Greenacre.
But Wenger was indebted to Reyes, who returned from injury in the absence of
Thierry Henry. The Spaniard put Arsenal level five minutes after the break.
Reyes had similarly put Arsenal back in contention in last season's
fifth-round tie against Chelsea after Adrian Mutu had put the Blues ahead.
And while he scored twice on that occasion shortly after his arrival from
Seville, he was involved in the build-up as Robin van Persie struck Arsenal's
70th-minute winner.
Not that he was hugely impressive otherwise, however, as the real credit was
all Stoke's, even against an under-strength Arsenal side.
Tony Pulis' side took the game to the Gunners with conviction, with Gerry
Taggart and Thomas both inspirational in defence, while Akinbiyi made a mockery
of his past top-flight reputation in attack.
Indeed, for some time in the second half, Arsenal must have feared a similarly
embarrassing exit to their defeats at York in 1985 and Wrexham in 1992.
Wenger, however, has never lost to a lower division club in the FA Cup and
that record, however fortuitously, continued at Highbury.
Boosted by a raucous reception from their large contingent of fans, Stoke had
been undaunted in the first half as they valiantly held Arsenal at bay.
Taggart, 34, led by example, as Arsenal huffed and puffed with little reward,
even if van Persie sent one effort just wide. Indeed, Stoke's defence, which has
conceded just 20 goals in 28 Championship games, was relatively untroubled as
Steve Simonsen produced just one fine first-half save, from Jermaine Pennant.
The warning signs should have been clear enough at the other end, as Philippe
Senderos failed to handle Akinbiyi and Lehmann was called upon to tip the
ensuing shot around the post.
Akinbiyi, who had failed to impress in the top-flight for Leicester, then
muscled Kolo Toure off the ball and cut it back, although Greenacre could not
keep his shot on target.
Akinbiyi even had the ball in the net eight minutes before the break but had
been penalised for a slight push on Senderos.
However, Stoke then scored for real in first-half injury-time as Arsenal
failed to cope with a deep cross by Greenacre.
Lehmann did well to claw out Akinbiyi's header but centre-back Thomas was on
hand to ram the ball into the roof of the net as Arsenal's defence remained
rooted to the spot.
Arsenal deserved some harsh words at half-time and Simonsen was called upon to
produce an excellent reaction save to deny van Persie shortly after the
restart.
Just a few minutes later, Arsenal were level as Reyes struck his ninth goal of
the season, but only his second since October 2.
Stoke could only half-clear Toure's cross, as Patrick Vieira challenged
Thomas, and the ball fell to Reyes on the edge of the penalty area. The Spaniard
fired his effort past Simonsen.
Arsenal continued to press, with Cesc Fabregas' drive flying a few inches wide
and Simonsen denying van Persie, but Stoke managed to regain their composure.
Indeed, Akinbiyi was tirelessly chasing seemingly lost causes up front and
managed to win a corner against all the odds after putting Toure under
pressure.
Greenacre duly produced a neat flick as Arsenal failed to clear the ensuing
delivery, with Lehmann static on his line, and Clichy saved his team with a
goal-line clearance.
Akinbiyi smacked an ambitious lob against the face of the crossbar from 20
yards out as Lehmann, doing his chances of a regular first-team recall little
benefit, was caught out of position.
But Arsenal finally managed to sneak into the lead with 20 minutes left as
Reyes won the ball and set up Pennant to deliver a cross that van Persie nimbly
flicked past Simonsen.
Arsenal, for whom Pennant came close in the final minute, thereafter managed
to find some much-needed breathing space.
The final whistle was nevertheless met with some relief at Highbury as Stoke
had emerged with huge credit, but no replay, for their efforts.
end<
Teams
Arsenal Lehmann, Eboue (Hoyte 71), Toure, Senderos, Clichy,
Pennant, Fabregas, Vieira, Pires, Reyes, Van Persie.
Subs Not Used: Cygan, Almunia, Larsson, Owusu-Abeyie.
Booked: Fabregas.
Goals: Reyes 50, Van Persie 70.
Stoke Simonsen, Thomas, Taggart, Buxton, Hall, Russell,
Greenacre (Asaba 77), Halls (Henry 52), Clarke (Eustace 77),
Akinbiyi, Jarrett.
Subs Not Used: de Goey, Noel-Williams.
Booked: Taggart, Eustace, Akinbiyi.
Goals: Thomas 45.
Att: 36,579
Ref: N Barry (N Lincolnshire).
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