FA Cup: Arsenal 4 - 1 Everton: Instant Reaction

1 - 0 Özil 7'
1 - 1 Lukaku 32'
2 - 1 Arteta pk 68'
3 - 1 Giroud 83'
4 - 1 Giroud 85'

Arsenal survived a robust Everton effort today to win 4-1 and book a place at Wembley for the FA Cup semifinals. An early Mesut Özil strike was leveled by a vicious Everton counter before halftime, and the second half was pretty level until Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain won a penalty. From then on, it was all Arsenal.

Özil's opener came after James McCarthy slipped in midfield, Santi Cazorla taking advantage to put the German through. He made no mistake. The half ambled on pleasantly until Arsenal were caught with far too many men upfield; Everton countered quite viciously, Arsenal a mess, and Ross Barkley (unworried by Mathieu Flamini, who was on a stupid yellow already) slipped a low cross through to Kevin Mirallas at the far post, who scuffed a shot that Lukaku was on hand to poke home.

Halftime arrived, and both teams started the second half pushing hard. The Ox, in the 65th minute, bamboozled his way past Gareth Barry on the byline, and the Englishman foolishly stuck his leg out and tripped the youngster. A clear penalty, and the first conversion by Arteta was chalked off for encroachment by Olivier Giroud. The second effort from the Spaniard was even niftier, cool as a cucumber, and it was 2-1.

Arsenal put their foot down from that point forward; Everton had few chances, and two good goals from Giroud, one from a Bacary Sagan cutback and one on a frankly sexy counter from Özil and Cazorla and Sagna put things to rest.

See you at Wembley, everyone.

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