In the end, it was a rather comfortable affair for Arsenal, despite the Lincoln City side putting up a good, physical fight in the first half of the game. The second half was a rampage, in which the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Oliver Giroud scored goals that instilled confidence into a side that has looked down and out over the last few weeks or so. Theo Walcott opened the scoring just before the end of the first half before Alexis Sanchez and company emphatically swept aside the non-league side to salvage a positive from what has been a wreckage of a week.
Lincoln City, on the other hand, played with much grace but were eventually outclassed and heartbroken by a full-strength Arsenal side. Their amazing cup run comes to an end, but they walk out with their heads held high after putting themselves on the map for even reaching this far, having beaten Burnley in the previous round. They put up a brilliant fight and their 9,000 odd fans had a great day at the Emirates.
The Gunner’s have advanced to the semi-finals at Wembley and will have to do much better in their upcoming games if they want a chance to play Champions League football again next season.
Arsenal
Petr Cech: 6.5/10
Was as good as a spectator for most of the second half and made a few good saves to stop the Imps.
Hector Bellerin: 8/10
Was brilliant on the attack and threatened the Lincoln box with a few crosses. Combined well with Alexis before finding Oliver Giroud with a brilliant pass, which the Frenchman finished with ease. The Spaniard was good when required at the back, which wasn’t much.
Shkrodan Mustafi: 7/10
Was outmuscled by Rhead once and then never again, but didn’t have much to do in the second half. The German needs to rediscover his early season form, especially now with the Gunner’s struggling in the Premier League.
Laurent Koscielny: 6.5/10
Had a tough first half against a physical Lincoln City side and was rather harshly booked just before half-time.
Kieran Gibbs: 7/10
Provided the assist for Theo Walcott’s opener but otherwise, didn't have much to do on the defensive side of things. Going forward, the England international could have done much better, but showed intelligent play for both Walcott’s play and later on the own goal.
Aaron Ramsey: 7/10
Missed a few wonderful chances that could have just made things that much worse for the Imp’s only, to walk the ball into the net to score goal number five.
Granit Xhaka: 5.5/10
Did not have the best game (again) in an Arsenal shirt and was awarded a yellow card for his efforts in the first half before Arsene Wenger decided to pick the safe option and replace the midfielder with Francis Coquelin.
Theo Walcott: 7/10
Did well for the first goal and threatened Paul Farman’s box time and time again throughout the game.
Oxlade-Chamberlain: 4/10
Started the game well but couldn’t do too much after an injury to his hamstring made any chance of him continuing on tough. Eventually replaced by Mesut Ozil in the 27th minute.
Alexis Sanchez: 8.5/10
Had a tough time in the opening half hour, and was kept in check by the Lincoln City defence with a few tough tackles, but was excellent in the second half. The Chilean has been Arsenal’s standout player this season and he showed why with a well-taken goal and a lovely assist for Ramsey’s goal.
Oliver Giroud: 6.5/10
Was kept quiet by the Imp’s defence in the first half and missed a few chances in the second half, but managed to score a goal to put Arsenal 2-0 up.
Substitutes:
Mesut Ozil: 7/10
The German did well after coming on for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and did his bit, with an assist and a few typical Ozil-esque passes. Still has a lot to do before he wins over the Arsenal faithful.
Francis Coquelin: 6/10
Didn’t have much to do and was brought on to simply finish the game with a clean sheet for Petr Cech. The Frenchman did see the need to go in full-blooded on Hawkridge with a bad tackle and escaped with a warning.
Lucas Perez: 5.5/10
Brought on for more game time, and did decently but at the same time showed glimpses of what he could be if played regularly. Combined well with the front four players.
Lincoln City:
Paul Farman: 5/10
Did well in the first half, making a few good saves here and there. But was completely overwhelmed in the second as the Gunner’s attacked relentlessly his goal.
Bradley Wood: 6.5/10
The defender did well to thwart the Arsenal attacking pressure and battled it out well with both Sanchez and Walcott.
Sean Raggett: 6.5/10
The Arsenal supporter in the Lincoln City side did well in the first half, bullying Oliver Giroud but couldn’t keep up the pressure. However, the Lincoln man was booked for a meaty tackle on Lucas Perez
Luke Waterfall: 4.5/10
Epitomised his team’s second half and conceded an unfortunate own goal, to sum up a torrid second half.
Sam Habergham: 5/10
Was consistently challenged by both Walcott and Bellerin, but couldn’t keep up against either speedster.
Nathan Arnold: 6.5/10
Did well to challenge the Arsenal defence and forced Petr Cech to make a crucial save that would have otherwise changed the outcome of the game.
Alan Power: 6/10
Patrolled the midfield and did his very best to shut down the relentless flow of Arsenal attacks. Tried Cech with a well-taken long-range effort, but the Arsenal man had it covered.
Alex Woodyard:5/10
Overrun and booked, but otherwise had a good game and was always available throughout the game.
Terry Hawkridge:6/10
Did more defending than attacking, but as horrible as it sounds was as good as a lamppost during the second half.
Matthew Rhead: 4.5/10
In the war of the opening half an hour, the 32-year-old roughed it up with Arsenal’s back four and got his fair share of kicks in but was anonymous after the break and eventually subbed off.
Jack Muldoon: 5/10
Tried his best to link the defence with the attack and was missed by the Imps after he was brought off for Jonathon Margetts.
Substitutes:
Johnny Margetts: 5.5/10
Was booked soon after his introduction for a reckless lunge on Kieran Gibbs but otherwise didn’t do much.
Joe Ward: 5/10
Had no impact after he was brought on and was as good as invisible for his time on the pitch.
Adam Marriott: 4/10
Lashed a free-kick just over Petr Cech’s goal but otherwise was brought on far too late to even make an impression on the match.
