Jack Wilshere’s late strike gave Arsenal a 1-0 FA Cup third-round replay win over Swansea City and Wayne Rooney’s first goal in over a month earned Manchester United a 1-0 victory over West Ham United on Wednesday.
Arsenal wasted a hatful of good chances before sealing the win over Swansea, thanks to midfielder Wilshere’s sublime left-foot strike past Michel Vorm four minutes from time, following relentless pressure from the home side.
Rooney’s routine finish after nine minutes proved good enough for 11-time winners United to move into the fourth round, but the England striker also missed a late penalty to make the Premier League leaders sweat in the closing stages.
Arsenal, 10-time Cup winners, are to travel to Championship (second division) Brighton and Hove Albion in the fourth round next weekend, while United host Premier League rivals Fulham.
Wilshere, after scoring his first goal for Arsenal since November, said he was delighted with the connection he made with the ball following Olivier Giroud’s superb layoff.
“I don’t think I’ll ever hit another one like that in my life. It was a great set up by Olivier. It’s lucky I was there, we couldn’t put it in,” he told ESPN.
The London club’s strikers Theo Walcott and Giroud both had shots blocked on the line, as the home team mounted relentless attacks in a one-sided second half and Walcott’s glancing header hit the post with time running out.
Swansea, who scored a late equalizer to force a replay, had the game’s first good chance when former Arsenal player Kyle Bartley’s header from an inswinging Wayne Routledge cross hit the bar in the 25th minute.
Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen forced Vorm into a smart save in the last action of the first half before the home team came out all guns blazing in the second period, to little avail until Wilshere came to the rescue.
The 21-year-old spared Arsenal’s blushes with the second goal of his comeback season following 17 months out through injury.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, whose side lost 2-0 at home to Swansea in the league last month, said he had never lost hope of an Arsenal win, given their dominance.
“The second half was outstanding,” the Frenchman said. “I felt comfortable defensively tonight because they didn’t create a lot. I always had faith.”
Rooney’s ninth goal of the season came when he slid along the ground to guide Javier Hernandez’s inch-perfect cross into the unguarded net.
Although Rooney blasted his late spot-kick over the bar, United were rarely troubled.
HSIEH ADVANCES: In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei was to play in the second round last night, but Taiwan’s Ray Ho exited in the men’s doubles It is more than 10 years since Grigor Dimitrov reached his sole Wimbledon semi-final and back then it still seemed a reasonable bet that the Bulgarian once dubbed “Baby Federer” would win a Grand Slam title. There were semi-final runs at the US Open and Australian Open after that, but it has never quite happened and despite him still being ranked No. 21, it most likely never will. Dimitrov, 34, remains one of the most stylish players on the circuit though, with his elegant single-handed backhand and smooth all-court game a rare reminder of how tennis was before the power merchants turned
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
INJURY TURMOIL: Despite stunning French Open champions Paolini and Errani to advance, Chan was forced to pull out after her partner’s tearful women’s singles defeat Last year’s mixed doubles champions Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Poland’s Jan Zielinski on Monday crashed out of the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, leaving the Taiwanese star focused on pursuing a fifth women’s doubles title in London, while a partner injury forced compatriot Chan Hao-ching to give up on her doubles campaign. Hsieh and Zielinksi, who last year also won the Australia Open title, narrowly lost their opening set 7-6 (9/7), before Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani stunned the former champions 6-3 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The Taiwanese-Polish duo had been dominant in the first two
Real Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund had taken three crazy turns during nine minutes of second-half stoppage time when Marcel Sabitzer chested the ball and sent a right-footed volley toward Thibaut Courtois’ post. Courtois leapt to his right, extended the long arm on his 2m frame and just managed to get his gloved fingertips on the ball, knocking it down. Courtois hit the ground as the ball bounded up. He looked skyward, planted his right hand to regain his balance, grabbed the ball with both hands on the second bounce and fell onto it with his chest. Sabitzer turned
RSS