West Ham 1-2 Arsenal
Arsenal scored twice in five second-half minutes to come from behind to beat West Ham at Upton Park and secure their place in the FA Cup fourth round.
With more pressing matters ahead in their respective Premier League campaigns at opposite ends of the table, both managers could perhaps be forgiven for their team selection.
However, once the action got under way, the encounter turned out to be a decent cup tie.
West Ham, battling relegation from the top flight, took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Alessandro Diamanti beat the offside trap to slot past Gunners goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
But with 12 minutes remaining the outstanding Aaron Ramsey levelled and Eduardo’s looping header after 83 minutes completed the turnaround.
The Gunners have a crucial Premier League game against Bolton on Wednesday which could see them narrow the gap to leaders Chelsea to a point.
But their quest for a first trophy in five years - since they won the FA Cup in 2005 - remained alive on more than one front as they entered the fourth round draw, where they were pitted against Stoke.
Even though Wenger had made five changes from the 4-1 win over Portsmouth in midweek, it was certainly not an inexperienced Arsenal side, with the likes of Carlos Vela, Fran Merida and Luke Wilshere included along with veteran defender Mikael Silvestre, captain in the absence of injured Cesc Fabregas.
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