Morning all
Arsenal are in Nottinghamshire today for a lunchtime fixture against Mansfield Town in the FA Cup. Nigel Clough’s side has done well to get this far but their journey has to end today and hopefully it will.
Mansfield Town sit around the middle of the league one table and have struggled to win games over the last month or so but in this competition, they’ve not had the same kind of problems. In the last round, despite going 1-0 down against Burnley at Turf Moor, they came back to win 2-1. That’s the kind of determination we’ll probably be up against today.
Regardless of the threat our opponents offer today, for the sake of our Premier League and Champions League challenge, wholesale changes are surely on the cards for this fixture. MLS is suspended for this fixture having picked up two bookings in previous rounds which is a great shame because he could have finally got a start in midfield.
There was no sign of Saliba, Odegaard, White, Rice, Zubimendi, Gabriel or Timber during Arsenal’s pre-match training session which I hope is an indication that they, or at least a number of them, won’t be involved in today’s match. 18yr RB/CB Jaden Dixon, 15yr RB/CM Mikael Yetna, Dowman, Salmon and Harriman-Annous were training though.
Adrian Clarke has assessed our FA Cup fifth-round opponents.
Nigel Clough has been a manager for 28 years, overseeing more than 1,500 matches, so Mikel Arteta is going head-to-head with a shrewd coach boasting vast experience. His team has had real continuity in recent years too, with many players staying with the Stags over a prolonged period. This means they will be organised, tactically disciplined and hardworking without the ball. Mansfield under Clough, consistently do the basics very well.
The 59-year-old has deployed eight different formations in 2025/26, so nothing is set in stone. His penchant for a back three has been strong in recent months though, so he may opt for an extra defender against us. Therefore, the most likely shape will be a 3-4-2-1, shifting into a 5-4-1 out of possession.
Defensively they are one of the best outfits in League 1, with central defenders Oshilaja, Blake-Tracey and Knoyle a unit they can rely on. In front of the back three, central midfielder Louis Reed is also a player to look out for. Everything Mansfield Town do, comes through the 28-year-old, who scored with a fabulous direct free kick when they knocked out Burnley in the fourth round. His technical quality is impressive.
As a team, our fifth-round opponents work hard on giving little away from corners and wide free kicks. Conceding just five set piece goals across the campaign, they will be well prepped for our strength at dead ball situations. Keeper Liam Roberts is potentially the Stags’ key man for this tie. He is not the tallest custodian, but his shot-stopping is highly regarded. In the third tier the Stags stopper has the second best save percentage of all the goalkeepers.
Today is probably the last time Mikel Arteta can go full throttle on rotation in my opinion. Madueke, Mosquera, Calafiori, Norgaard, Jesus and Kepa will surely start. I don’t think any of us expect, or want Arteta to throw a bunch of teenagers under the FA Cup bus but there could well be a case for Salmon to start as he’s already shown maturity in the moments he’s been on the pitch. Max Dowman too.
Ideally Odegaard and White would be fit to start but I think we’re more likely to see Eze again and one of Rice or Zubimendi in midfield although I hope I’m wrong. I’d love to see Havertz on the pitch at some stage today but only if he’s 100% fit because we need him for more than just one FA Cup fifth round match.
Our so called “second string” which isn’t really a second string at all, not these days, should be able to match, no, better a mid table Championship team. That’s not being disrespectful, just honest, especially as most of our players are internationals.
Mansfield Town have nothing to lose today but Arsenal do. Pride and a place in the quarterfinals…
Catch up in the comments.
Good morning Rico.
Today’s match really should be an anxiety free game. Mansfield are only five points above the drop zone in league one.
Arteta would be wise to ignore Mansfield’s league position as they will be hungry for some kind of success, no doubt they will treat today’s game as their cup final. Rotation? Yes, but not wholesale changes to the starting eleven, that can happen only when, or if, we are comfortably in a winning position.
Morning Cicero.
I really don’t want to see Rice or Zubimendi on the pitch today, both are running on empty imo.
Nigel Clough:
“The last time I came across Mikel Arteta, I was at Burton and he was assistant to Pep Guardiola at Man City – and they beat us 9-0!”
“I’ve not seen him since then and I’m not particularly looking forward to seeing him this time, if it’s the truth!”
Nice preview,
I absolutely love the FA Cup but this has got to be our lowest priority of our remaining games.
I expect to see a mix of senior players with a few academy players maybe,
COYG
Kepa
Salmon-Norgaard-Mosquera-Hincapié
Madueke-Dowman-Havertz-Trossard-Martinellli
Jesus
(Setford-Dixon-Timber-Ibrahim-Eze-Saka-Gyökered-HarrimanAnnous)
… my uninformed guess this is; the setup will depend on Leandro’s exact place in it, Arsenal.com puts Hincapié both in the starting lineup, … and on the bench
Two Young Guns it is, Rico, about to start a Ro16 FA cup game for The Arsenal … even the wildest dreams get fulfilled sometimes, don’t they?
C’mon, lads, blow our minds!
Thanks Limey. I agree now we’re in the league cup final
I’m chuffed for them LG, hope they enjoy it and play well..
Afternoon Rico and all, looking forward to today’s match, hopefully a nice win and no injuries. as others have said, a few goals in the first half to break their spirit and then give a more time to our fringe players
Not Hincapie, Calafiori is left back.
There’s a plaque at Mansfield which reads:
“If you do not believe you can do it, then you have no chance at all.”
– Arsene Wenger
Hi Geoff.. Pitch looks worse than my lawn 🤣
No DM then 😳
Ignore me, I thought Norgaard was in defence. He’s not. Doh!
Good afternoon Rico and all
I dont like the look of that line up. Its a 3-4-3 for a start with Martinelli and Madueke as wingbacks. There is no spinal strength in midfield. Only creativity imo.