Saka leads Arsenal to FA Cup fifth round

Arteta eyes ‘one or two players’
Arsenal teenager Bukayo Saka scored one goal and set up another as the Londoners sealed a place in the FA Cup fifth round with a 2-1 win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Monday, reports Reuters.
Left-back Saka and striker Eddie Nketiah netted inside 26 minutes as Arsenal’s much-changed lineup made a dominant start and fought off a late Bournemouth rally to secure a tie against third-tier Portsmouth back on the south coast.
Saka, 18, blasted the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle after five minutes before his low cross provided a tap-in for Nketiah, who was recalled this month from a loan spell at second-tier Leeds United.
Bournemouth’s Sam Surridge scored in the fourth minute of added time to set up a nervous finale for Mikel Arteta’s side but the hosts could not find an equaliser and are left to focus on the battle for Premier League survival.
Arsenal’s first-half performance was eye-catching, with 22 passes leading up to Saka’s fine opening goal.
“Mikel is trying to bring back the philosophy of the Arsenal way. We did that well in the first half, not so much in the second half,” Saka told BT Sport.
Bournemouth’s last-gasp goal them some hope, Simon Francis’ low cross eluding everybody and allowing Surridge, 21, to score his first goal for the club after a loan spell at Swansea City.
“We’re very disappointed. We gave it a good go in the end,” said Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe.
“It was just a poor start. Tough first half hour and we struggled to deal with their movement. We weren’t ourselves. But for the last 60 minutes we scrapped and almost got something in the end.”
After the game, which saw defender, Shkodran Mustafi carried off injured, Mikel Arteta confirmed Arsenal are ‘in the market for one or two bodies’ in the January transfer window.
Mustafi is facing time on the sidelines after being taken off on a stretcher against Bournemouth on Monday night.
They already have defenders Calum Chambers, Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac on the injury table.
The Gunners are also preparing for an approach from Barcelona for striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
‘We are in the market, the club is trying to facilitate one or two bodies with the resources we have,’ he told BT Sport
‘I want Auba here 100% and I can’t wait to have him back after his suspension.’
When asked if he was looking to bring in a defender this month, he said: ‘We are in the market, the club is trying to facilitate us. When we have something to say we will confirm with you.’
On the challenge posed by Portsmouth in the next round, Arteta added: ‘It will be tough again, but let’s enjoy the win today.’