It has been eight years since Arsenal won their last trophy – when the Gunners lifted the FA cup in 2005. At that time, the north London club was blessed with talent players such as Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pirès, Patrick Vieira and Fàbregas. One season before that FA cup triumph, the Gunners won the English Premier League undefeated. At that time no one would ever believe that Arsenal would be bothered by a trophy drought lasting eight years.
Last weekend Arsenal suffered a surprise 0-1 home defeat to Championship side Blackburn in the fifth round of the FA Cup. It was the second time this year they were knocked out from a domestic cup by a lower tier club, after Bradford dumped them out in the League Cup. Blackburn will travel to East London to face Millwall, and this will be the only cup tie between two clubs outside the Premier League in the final eight of the FA cup.
Manchester City beat Leeds United 4-0, with Sergio Agüero scoring a pair, while Yaya Touré and Carlos Tévez shared the other two goals. The Blue Moon will face Barnsley in their quarterfinal.
After beating Reading 2-1 at home, Manchester United is set for a possible clash with Chelsea in the last eight if the London club knock out Middlesborough in the round of 16. The replay game between the Blues and Brentford at Stamford Bridge provided no opportunity for the fans to boo their manager Rafa Benítez, as the home team sealed a comprehensive 4-0 victory.
Oldham and Everton performed a fine cup tie that excited the spectators. League One club Oldham has achieved something by knocking out Liverpool in the previous round, and again they created another small miracle by scoring in the 95th minute of the game against the Toffees to make a 2-2 draw, which earned them a replay chance at Goodison Park. The winner of that game will meet Wigan in the quarterfinal.