FA Cup holders Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-0 on Saturday as non-league Chorley knocked out coronavirus-ravaged Derby and West Brom suffered an...
FA Cup holders Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-0 on Saturday as non-league Chorley knocked out coronavirus-ravaged Derby and West Brom suffered an embarrassing third-round exit against Blackpool.
The worsening Covid-19 crisis is casting a lengthening shadow over football in England, with dozens of games called off and growing fears over whether the season can be completed.
Just one match has so far been called off in the FA Cup third round – the stage at which the big guns of the country enter the competition.
But a number of clubs have been forced to make radical alterations to their line-ups after suffering outbreaks.
Arsenal, 14-time FA Cup winners, continued their recent revival with a fourth straight win in all competitions in their all Premier-League tie at the Emirates but were stretched by a Newcastle side who could have won the match in regular time.
Magpies captain Jamaal Lascelles made his first appearance in six weeks after being hit hard by the coronavirus as both sides made multiple changes.
Emile Smith Rowe – who earlier had a red card overturned after a VAR check – broke the deadlock in a disappointing game, drilling the ball home in the second half of extra time, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made the game safe.
Mikel Arteta turned his attention to...
