Mansfield Town Look to Topple Arsenal | OneFootball

In their first meeting in almost a century, lower division Mansfield Town hosts Premier League leaders Arsenal in a FA Cup fifth round match.

Two Very Different Sides

Mikel Arteta’s side have been leading the way both domestically and in Europe this season, but will face a new test on Saturday afternoon as they travel to take on Nigel Clough’s League One outfit. 

Despite boasting a 129-year history, Mansfield have spent much of that time condemned to obscurity in England’s lower leagues. The Stags have spent just a solitary season in the second tier, in 1977/78, and were competing in non-League as recently as 2013. They have now returned to League One, a division where they have the most experience (42 seasons in the third tier since WWII). 

Arsenal, on the other hand, are currently top of the Premier League and have not been out of the English top flight in over a century. The last time the Gunners endured a season in the second division was during the outbreak of the First World War. 

Similar disparities are also evident in the two club’s FA Cup record. Arsenal have won the competition more times than any other club (14 times), most recently in 2020. Meanwhile, Mansfield have reached the quarter-final stage just once – shortly before the moon landing in 1969. 

“Players know the gulf,” Clough admitted ahead of the game. “We’re a bottom half of the League One table side playing against top of the Premier League. Without breaking a sweat they could easily demolish us. [But] you just had a team from National League North go and knock out the holders. These sorts of shocks can happen.” 

David vs. Goliath

Without exploring wage bills and record transfers, the fixture already resembles a David and Goliath clash. However, Mansfield do have some form. 

The Stags produced the shock result of the fourth round, as they came from behind to defeat Premier League Burnley at Turf Moor.

It was their first victory over top-flight opposition since a win over West Ham in 1969. Prior to their #cupset, Mansfield also upset Championship side Sheffield United in the third round with a 4-3 thriller.

They have now been rewarded with the opportunity to welcome Arsenal to Field Mill. It will be the Gunners’ first ever visit to the stadium, which is the oldest in the football League. Field Mill has been hosting football matches since the time of Abraham Lincoln, with records of games taking place there since 1861, and it has been the home of Mansfield since 1919. 

Arsenal will be the biggest club to visit the stadium in Nottinghamshire since Liverpool played there in 2013. The game went to the wire that day, with a controversial Luís Suarez goal (the Uruguayan clearly handled the ball) proving the difference. The Stags will hope for a similarly tight contest this Saturday (but with a different outcome). 

Mansfield’s boss, Nigel Clough, of course comes from rich pedigree in English football. His father, Brian Clough, was the legendary manager of Nottingham Forest when the Reds were twice victorious in the European Cup in 1979 and 1980. However, the FA Cup was the only major trophy that they were unable to claim in that period. 

Inspired by both his father’s legacy and the history of his club, Mansfield’s boss will certainly be motivated to secure an unlikely result on Saturday. There are plenty of reasons to dream of an FA Cup giant-killing. 

Any Given Saturday

Despite this, Arteta will be acutely aware of all of these factors, and he will urge ruthlessness amongst his Arsenal players. The Gunners have not been knocked out of the FA Cup by a team from the third tier or lower since fourth tier Wrexham eliminated them in 1992. 

On paper it should be a routine victory for the Gunners, but things can often play out very differently in the FA Cup.