Arsenal returned to form with a 5-0 drubbing of Leyton Orient and Manchester City eased past Aston Villa 3-0 to reach the FA Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Nicklas Bendtner fired a hat trick as Arsenal recovered from their League Cup final loss to Birmingham City in a one-sided fifth-round replay against Orient to set up a titanic quarterfinal against Manchester United.
The Gunners’ victory was never in doubt after Marouane Chamakh and Bendtner put Arsenal 2-0 up and Arsene Wenger’s side bounced back emphatically from Sunday’s shock defeat by Birmningham.
Manchester City also reached the last eight with an easy win over much-changed Aston Villa team and they face Championship side Reading who beat Premier League Everton on Tuesday.
“It was important we came back from Sunday’s defeat with a win,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told reporters. “We are having a fine run apart from Sunday’s defeat which came under special circumstances. But we played very well tonight.”
The Gunners, held to a 1-1 draw by third tier Orient in the first game, were looking for a rapid response after Sunday’s painful 2-1 to Birmingham in League Cup final.
But there were no mistakes at the Emirates where the crowd were subdued until Arsenal took control of the game. Chamakh settled nerves with a well-taken side-footed goal, his first since November, after seven minutes before Bendtner headed the second, Arsenal’s 100th of the season in all competitions.
{{/usCountry}}But there were no mistakes at the Emirates where the crowd were subdued until Arsenal took control of the game. Chamakh settled nerves with a well-taken side-footed goal, his first since November, after seven minutes before Bendtner headed the second, Arsenal’s 100th of the season in all competitions.
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MAN CITY beat VILLA
Manchester City took an early grip at Eastlands with Yaya Toure opening the scoring after Villa failed to clear a corner in the fifth minute. The ball bounced off the shoulder of Ciaran Clark and into Toure’s path and he cracked it home from inside the six-yard box.
Mario Balotelli, beginning to settle at City after a difficult first few months at Eastlands disrupted by injury, added the second when he collected a pass from Toure and sidefooted home a half-volley from 15-metres that bounced in off Brad Friedel’s post.