Arsenal needed their big guns to come off the bench to secure a win over a battling Mansfield Town side in the FA Cup fifth round, but it was two 16-year-olds who made history.
Eberechi Eze scored the winner as Arsenal beat the League One side 2-1 to move into the quarter-finals for the first time since 2020, which is when they last won the competition in Mikel Arteta’s first season in charge.
Arteta made nine changes to the side that beat Brighton in the Premier League and named Marli Salmon and Max Dowman, who are both 16, in the starting line-up.
It was Salmon’s first start for the club while Dowman became the youngest player to start a game for Arsenal in the FA Cup at 16 years and 66 days old.
It was also the first time a Premier League side had named two players aged 16 or under in a starting XI in any competition.
Arteta used an unfamiliar three-man defence, with the Gunners boss saying the players had trained in the formation “once” and for “10 minutes”.
Salmon started at right centre-back, with Dowman in an advanced midfield role as Arsenal came under intense pressure after a bright Mansfield start.
The hosts had eight shots in the opening 15 minutes, which is the most Arsenal had faced in a match during that period this season.
Noni Madueke’s opener was cancelled out by a defiant Mansfield after the break before substitute Eze scored the winner, as Arsenal survived a hefty FA Cup scare.
“Very proud of him [Dowman], very proud as well of Marli,” Arteta said when asked about the pair.
“Two 16-year-olds starting in the FA Cup. That tells us a lot about them, their personality and the quality that they have. And Max, I think he was exceptional.”
The victory was Arsenal‘s 35th win this season in all competitions, more than any other side in Europe, and is the most wins they have had in a single campaign under Arteta (previously 34 in 2023-24).