Arsenal were outplayed for most of the game but eventually managed to sneak past a spirited Preston North End to book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The visitors started brightly to put Wenger's side under immense pressure and got their just reward when Robinson capitalised on some slack defending to put his side one goal to the good. It could have gotten worse for the Gunners but a combination of poor finishing from the Preston strikers and some fairly decent keeping from Ospina ensured that the sides were separated by just a goal going into the break.
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Whatever Arsene Wenger told his side at half-time seemed to have worked as they came out all guns blazing and netted an equaliser under a minute from the restart. The goal did the Gunners a world of good as they regained some of their poise and began stringing a few passes together.
Giroud thought he had won the game for his side when he put a Lucas Perez cross into the back of the net only to see the linesman’s flag being raised. He did, however, have the last laugh as he got on the end of a Perez back-heel to finish low and hard past the keeper.
Here are five major takeaways from the game that took place at Deepdale Stadium:
#1 Preston’s fast start
The home side got off to a flier and took a well-deserved lead as early as the 7th minute. Arsenal were rocked by the goal and struggled to find any kind of rhythm as Preston piled on the pressure, pressing high and winning the ball in the Arsenal half.
Simon Grayson’s men dominated the midfield in the early stages and created numerous chances with Aiden McGeady, Ben Pearson and Callum Robinson looking especially threatening. Despite their attacking intent, they were extremely compact at the back and did not allow the likes of Olivier Giroud, Alex Iwobi and Lucas Perez even a sniff.
The goal, itself, was a thing of beauty. Aiden McGeady slipped past the challenges of a couple of Arsenal defenders before feeding it through for Hugill who was upended by Monreal. The ball, however, fell kindly to Robinson who slotted it past the keeper and into the back of the net.
#2 Arsenal’s defensive woes continue
Arsenal’s defensive woes are well-documented. This time, in the absence of Laurent Koscielny, who was rested for the game, it was up to Gabriel and Mustafi to hold the backline together but they did a pretty poor job of it as they were given the run around by McGeady and co. in the early stages.
Maitland-Niles, too looked well out of his depth as he was caught out of position on several occasions in the opening thirty minutes. The Gunners were shambolic against Bournemouth at the back and conceded three goals in the first half. That could just as easily have happened tonight as well but Preston just did not seem to be able to convert their chances when they fell to them.
Wenger will need to have a long hard think as to the composition of his defence in the games to come as he cannot allow such poor displays to continue.
#3 Hair dryer treatment at half-time?
Arsenal went into the break trailing by a goal. Arsene Wenger, who is generally not known to be harsh on his players, had to have told his side something as they came flying out the blocks in the second half and found the equaliser within 48 seconds of the restart.
Alex Iwobi’s good hold up play allowed Ramsey to receive the ball at the edge of the box and fire home an equaliser to finally give the travelling fans something to cheer about. The goal seemed to settle the Gunners as they began moving the ball well and creating a few chances.
Wenger came in for some severe criticism after the games against Manchester City and Everton as his side blew a 1-0 lead on both occasions but this time around, he got things right.
#4 Preston’s wastefulness comes back to haunt them
The Championship side could easily have been up by three goals going into the break had they converted a couple of their chances. McGeady was a thorn in Arsenal’s flesh and constantly set up chances for his teammates only to see them be squandered.
Robinson had a great opportunity to put his side two goals up but his header was cleared off the line by Mustafi. Hugill was released down the right and floated a brilliant ball to the far post but the scorer of the opening goal could not get enough power behind his header to beat the German defender.
The 21-year-old then turned provider as he bombed down the right-hand side and whipped a low hard cross into the box only to see it fly past Hugill’s outstretched boot.
A couple of minutes later and the home side were at it again, but this time Pearson's low drive was well kept out by Ospina. These missed chances ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides as Arsenal staged a dramatic comeback in the second half to claim victory in the end.
#5 Giroud to the rescue again
Olivier Giroud has been in scintillating form for the Gunners of late and that continued as he bagged his 4th goal in as many games with a deflected finish past the keeper in the dying stages of the match.
The Frenchman earlier had a goal ruled out due to offside but this time there was no denying him as he latched on to a clever backheel from Lucas Perez to slot neatly past the keeper.
The 30-year-old has got into the habit of scoring late goals this season as witnessed by the strike against West Brom last week and the equaliser against Manchester United prior to that. Giroud has been Arsenal's go-to man this season and has mainly featured off the bench but he has earned a starting berth the last few games and has made it count.
