Emile Smith Rowe broke the deadlock with a precise finish into the bottom corner, with former Arsenal striker Ian Wright describing it as a “calm and composed” strikeExtra-time goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ensured holders Arsenal beat a stubborn Newcastle in the FA Cup third round.
In-form Smith Rowe had an eventful evening after arriving as a second-half substitute, seeing a red card rightly rescinded before opening the scoring.
Aubameyang tapped in the second after a slick move cut Newcastle open.
Andy Carroll missed two golden chances in normal time, which could have sent Arsenal to a rare third-round exit.
The Gunners, who have won the FA Cup on a record 14 occasions, go into the fourth-round draw having being knocked out in the third round just once in the past 25 years.
Watch all the goals from the FA Cup third roundFollow all of the action and reaction from Saturday’s tiesHow to follow FA Cup third round on the BBCBut it could have been different had 32-year-old striker Carroll been able to convert his opportunities, particularly the second, which came in the final minute of normal time.
Arsenal would have had little time to recover from that and they had keeper Bernd Leno to thank as he reacted quickly to spread himself to smother Carroll’s shot.
That chance came after former England striker Carroll had been unable to take another opportunity early in the second half, staying onside but sidefooting wide.
“It can only be defined as an absolute sitter,” former Newcastle and England striker Alan Shearer said afterwards.
Instead, it was a player at the other end of his career who took the plaudits. Smith Rowe, with his energy and willingness to carry the ball, has added another dimension to Arsenal’s attacking play in recent weeks.
After an insipid first half, the England youth international was brought on as a 56th-minute substitute by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta and quickly became the game’s central character.
In the dying moments of normal time, he was shown a straight red card by referee Chris Kavanagh for a challenge on Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff, only for the official to overturn the decision after watching the incident again on the pitchside monitor.
On being able to stay on the pitch and then precisely fire in the crucial goal, Smith Rowe said: “I was really happy. It was a bit of a relief after the incident before, which definitely wasn’t intentional.
“I am happy to get the goal and get through to the next round.”
‘He is playing with a lot of personality’ – post-match reactionArsenal boss Mikel Arteta:
“It was very impressive from Emile Smith Rowe because is playing with a lot of personality, a lot of risk. He is playing in areas where he needs to make things happen and he has got the talent to do it.”
On his team’s recent form: “We want to keep going and win more games. It’s always important to stay in the competitions. We want to fight for this competition again, so today was a big game for us.”
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce:
“You have to take your chances when they come along. We had the opportunity in the final few minutes and didn’t grasp it. As a cup tie, it could have gone either way and we rue the missed chances.
“I thought Andy [Carroll] did fantastically well. If he had topped it off by scoring a goal, it would have been good for him. There were a lot of pleasing things. We’ve had a tough run of fixtures but we dust ourselves down and go again.”
What’s next?Both sides are in Premier League action this coming midweek; Newcastle visit Sheffield United on Tuesday (18:00 GMT), while Arsenal host Crystal Palace on Thursday (20:00).
Why Aubameyang loves the FA Cup – stats of the dayArsenal have won 24 of their past 25 FA Cup third-round ties, with the only exception coming against Nottingham Forest in 2017-18.Newcastle have lost 11 of their past 12 FA Cup ties against Premier League opponents, including all of the past seven.Since his first appearance of the season on 26 November, Emile Smith Rowe has been directly involved in six goals for Arsenal in all competitions (two goals, four assists). Only Alexandre Lacazette (six goals, one assist) has been involved in more in that time.Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored in all four of his FA Cup appearances, netting six goals in total in the competition.Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney has had three goal involvements (one goal, two assists) in his past two games – after having none in his first 20 appearances this season. The Scotland international created a game-high six chances against Newcastle.Andy Carroll had nine of Newcastle’s 12 shots in this match, although the Magpies failed to register a single attempt in extra-time.Line-upsArsenalFormation 4-2-3-1
1Leno
17Cédric Soares23David Luiz22Marí3Tierney
25Elneny28Willock
19Pépé12Willian24Nelson
14Aubameyang
1Leno17Cédric SoaresBooked at 45minsSubstituted forMaitland-Nilesat 120+1’minutes23David Luiz22Marí3Tierney25Elneny28WillockSubstituted forXhakaat 66’minutes19PépéSubstituted forLacazetteat 105’minutes12WillianSubstituted forSakaat 66’minutes24NelsonSubstituted forSmith Roweat 56’minutesBooked at 90mins14AubameyangSubstitutes7Saka9Lacazette13Rúnarsson15Maitland-Niles21Chambers30Nketiah32Smith Rowe34XhakaNewcastleFormation 5-4-1
1Dubravka
17Krafth14Hayden6Lascelles2Clark3Dummett
24Almirón36S Longstaff16Hendrick9Joelinton
7Carroll
1Dubravka17KrafthSubstituted forMurphyat 68’minutes14HaydenBooked at 90mins6LascellesBooked at 9minsSubstituted forRitchieat 45’minutes2ClarkBooked at 90mins3Dummett24AlmirónSubstituted forYedlinat 81’minutes36S Longstaff16Hendrick9JoelintonSubstituted forAndersonat 81’minutes7CarrollBooked at 26minsSubstituted forGayleat 105’minutesSubstitutes4M Longstaff11Ritchie12Gayle22Yedlin23Murphy29Gillespie57AndersonLive TextMatch ends, Arsenal 2, Newcastle United 0.
Second Half Extra Time ends, Arsenal 2, Newcastle United 0.
Attempt missed. Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) left footed shot from the left side of the box is too high. Assisted by Kieran Tierney.
Substitution, Arsenal. Ainsley Maitland-Niles replaces Cédric Soares because of an injury.
Goal! Arsenal 2, Newcastle United 0. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) left footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Kieran Tierney.
Foul by Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).
Matt Ritchie (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal! Arsenal 1, Newcastle United 0. Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Alexandre Lacazette with a headed pass.
Attempt missed. Kieran Tierney (Arsenal) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left misses to the left.
Substitution, Arsenal. Alexandre Lacazette replaces Nicolas Pépé.
Second Half Extra Time begins Arsenal 0, Newcastle United 0.
Substitution, Newcastle United. Dwight Gayle replaces Andy Carroll.
First Half Extra Time ends, Arsenal 0, Newcastle United 0.
Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ciaran Clark (Newcastle United).
Attempt blocked. Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Pablo Marí.
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Paul Dummett.
Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sean Longstaff (Newcastle United).
Attempt missed. Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is too high following a corner.
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