Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle: Smith Rowe and Aubameyang send sluggish Gunners through.

A sluggish Arsenal side has progressed to the next stage of the FA Cup after goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang in extra-time were enough to send them through.

Mikel Arteta made several changes to the side that thumped West Brom with Joe Willock, Willian, Cedric, and Reiss Nelson all coming into the side with Nelson a late injury replacement for Gabriel Martinelli.

Arsenal showed intent from the off with Reiss Nelson having the game’s first shot inside the first minute.

Newcastle made a decent start to the match, enjoying possession although not creating much. The first 20 minutes were rather uneventful with Arsenal looking the more threatening side however the Gunners did not really test Martin Dubravka in the Newcastle goal.

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang had the game’s best chance, springing the offside trap and latching onto a ball from David Luiz however the striker’s effort was well saved.

Mikel Arteta’s side grew into the game and pinned Newcastle back with Steve Bruce’s side creating next to nothing for the first half.

Arsenal dominated possession however they lacked ideas in the final third as the game was level at the break.

Newcastle started the second half the better side and with just ten minutes gone, Andy Carroll had a glorious chance. The ball somehow found its way to the striker at the back post; however, his shot went just wide.

Mikel Arteta made his first change of the game, bringing on Emile Smith Rowe for Reiss Nelson as Arsenal looked for some more creativity in the final third. Just minutes later a great pass from Mo Elneny found Aubameyang however his clipped effort went just wide.

As Arsenal pressed on Joe Willock had a great chance from his header however his effort went straight at Dubravka.

With 25 minutes to go Mikel Arteta brought on Bukayo Saka and Granit Xhaka to give his side some more attacking impetus and it worked as Arsenal continued to push to find the opening goal.

It was a dull half from both sides with Arsenal looking the more likely with Saka having his shot go just over the bar.

Newcastle did not offer much going forward however Andy Carroll had a chance to win it at the death unfortunately for the Magpies, Bernd Leno produced a superb save to keep his side in the game.

In injury time, Emile Smith Rowe made a clumsy tackle and was shown a red card however after VAR intervened, and he was awarded a yellow card. The game ended level with the sides now going into extra time.

Arsenal dominated the first half of extra time, controlling possession and putting pressure on Newcastle’s goal. Granit Xhaka had his volley well saved and Bukayo Saka had two great chances in the space of two minutes but was thwarted by Dubravka.

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang should have had a penalty after Ciaran Clark clipped the forward’s ankle yet VAR did not see enough to award a penalty.

Arsenal pushed and pushed however the game was still locked at 0-0 at half time in extra time and Alexandre Lacazette was brought on for Nicolas Pepe to start for the last 15 minutes.

Just minutes into the second period Arsenal took the lead. A poor give away from Ciaran Clark allowed Smith Rowe steal the ball and he played a one-two with Lacazette and the youngster produced a great finish across the keeper to give the Gunners the lead.

With three minutes to go Arsenal doubled their lead. After good work with Xhaka and Tierney, the Scot produced a neat cross which found Aubameyang and the Gunners skipper had an easy tap in as it effectively ended the game as a contest.

It was a largely uninspired performance from Arsenal however they managed to do enough to get the result and keep their hopes of retaining their title alive.