London: Lukas Podolski struck twice as Arsenal eased into the FA Cup fifth round with a comfortable 4-0 victory over League One side Coventry at the Emirates Stadium on Friday.
With 54 league places separating the two clubs, an upset was unlikely and late goals from substitutes Olivier Giroud – his 13th of the season – and Santi Cazorla confirmed Arsenal’s superiority.
“In the first half we did the job and took the game to them in a serious way and played the way we know we can,” Gunners manager Arsene Wenger said.
Asked about a potential move for Schalke midfielder Julian Draxler, Wenger added: “Honestly no. That’s an illusion. We’ve no need to take players on the flank.”
Wenger had spoken of his determination to add to his haul of four FA Cup successes in the build-up to the game.
Arsenal’s last triumph in the competition came in 2005 when they beat Manchester United in the final, the last time the north London club won silverware of note.
Liverpool avoided a potential banana skin on Saturday when they won 2-0 at second-tier Bournemouth to book their place in the fifth round.
Beneath bright winter sunshine on the English south coast, Liverpool withstood an enterprising start from their Championship hosts before taking the lead in the 26th minute.
Luis Suarez’s crossfield pass from the right flank found Victor Moses, who shifted the ball onto his right foot before drilling a low shot inside the left-hand post from the edge of the penalty area.
Daniel Sturridge made it 2-0 with half an hour remaining, running onto Suarez’s dinked pass and tucking the ball past goalkeeper Lee Camp in front of watching England manager Roy Hodgson.
Another 10 matches were played on the day (one more after going to press) and the biggest result among them was Manchester City’s come-from-behind 4-2 win against Watford.
City went 2-0 down in the first half hour, but bounced back through a hat-trick from Sergio Aguero and a single goal from Aleksandar Kolarov.
There were also wins for Swansea and Cardiff. (AFP)