Leyton Orient are looking forward to a day out at Emirates Stadium after holding Arsenal to a 1-1 draw in their FA Cup fifth round tie.
League One outfit leave it late in FA Cup stalemate
Leyton Orient are looking forward to a day out at Emirates Stadium after holding Arsenal to a 1-1 draw in their FA Cup fifth round tie.
A Tomas Rosicky header appeared to have booked the Gunners a quarter-final date with Manchester United at Old Trafford, but Jonathan Tehoue stepped off the bench to snatch a dramatic equaliser for Orient and keep their cup dreams alive.
Arsene Wenger made 10 changes to the side that claimed an impressive 2-1 win over Barcelona in midweek UEFA Champions League action, with promising Spanish defender Ignasi Miquel handed his senior debut.
The alterations appeared to affect the Gunners' rhythm early on, with Stephen Dawson seeing a fierce drive fumbled by Manuel Almunia inside the opening two minutes.
Arsenal were able to get their foot on the ball after that and Marouane Chamakh glanced a header wide seconds later, in the first of many chances to fall his way.
Nicklas Bendtner was also guilty of some wayward finishing, with the Dane rifling numerous efforts well wide of the target.
The closest Orient came to forcing the breakthrough was through Charlie Daniels, who saw a rising shot from 20 yards fizz narrowly over the crossbar.
Confidence
At the other end, Moroccan frontman Chamakh really should have put Arsenal in front on 35 minutes, but his lack of confidence at the moment let the hosts off the hook.
Kieran Gibbs did brilliantly to drill a low delivery across the face of goal, but an outstretched leg from Chamakh could only turn the ball past the post.
Andrey Arshavin went close again for the visitors as the first half edged towards a conclusion, but lost his balance and bundled wide after being freed in the box by Bendtner.
Arsenal continued to see plenty of the ball at the start of the second period, but a well-drilled Orient outfit refused to buckle and slammed the door in their face at every turn.
There was, however, only so long they could hold out and the Gunners finally got their noses in front after 53 minutes as Rosicky notched his first goal in over a year.
Bendtner was alert after seeing a shot blocked and was able to hook over a cross for his Czech team-mate to divert a header past Jamie Jones and into the bottom corner.
Orient's response to falling behind was positive, and Alex Revell saw a header loop into the grateful arms of Almunia as they pushed for an immediate reply.
Adventure
With Russell Slade's League One outfit having to throw caution to the wind, Arsenal would have expected space to open up and opportunities to arise.
That was not entirely the case, with Orient prepared to curb their own sense of adventure in favour of keeping things tight and preserving their dignity.
Rosicky saw another header beaten away by Jones, but shortly after Revell turned a first-time snap-shot just wide of the target after a lively counter attack involving Orient substitute Tehoue.
The Frenchman added pace and power to Orient's forward line, but his direct approach often forced him down a blind alley and allowed Arsenal to keep him at arm's length.
He did, however, escape in behind with eight minutes remaining, cutting the ball back for Revell to hammer against the face of Sebastien Squillaci from 12 yards as the Arsenal centre-half put in a heroic block.
His most telling contribution arrived in the final minute of normal time, with Arsenal, who had just seen Arshavin drill inches wide, unable to clear their lines and Tehoue burst through to lash past Almunia.
Slade's men were able to hold their nerve in stoppage-time, despite Arsenal looking to up the tempo, and thoroughly deserve a second shot at the Gunners.
| Leyton Orient |
Team Statistics |
Arsenal |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
6 |
| 4 |
Shots off Target |
10 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
6 |
| 4 |
Corners |
2 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
6 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 63.1 |
Passing Success |
87.1 |
| 18 |
Tackles |
8 |
| 55.6 |
Tackles Success |
75 |
| 27.6 |
Possession |
72.4 |
| 43.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
56.8 |
|
