Arsenal took a belated place in the FA Cup quarter-finals after a comfortable 3-0 defeat of Burnley, while Everton beat Middlesbrough 2-1 for a semi-final berth.
A postponed match in a previous round meant the Arsenal against Burnley tie was put off until quarter-final weekend, and once the encounter began the Gunners ensured no repeat of their League Cup elimination by the second-tier club, taking a 25th-minute lead with Carlos Vela’s deft chip. Eduardo da Silva, making his second appearance of the season having returned from long-term injury with two fourth-round replay goals against Cardiff City three weeks ago, made it 2-0 with a volley early in the second half and late on Emmanuel Eboué secured victory and a quarter-final against Hull City on 17 or 18 March.
Along with Eduardo playing 71 minutes, there was further good news for Arsenal, who visit AS Roma on Wednesday leading their UEFA Champions League first knockout round tie 1-0, as the Croatia striker was replaced by Theo Walcott. The winger was making his comeback nearly four months after dislocating his shoulder on England duty.
In the day’s quarter-final tie, Everton came from behind to knock out Middlesbrough. David Wheater headed in just before the break to give the visitors a deserved lead but Tim Cahill came off the bench for Everton at the interval and swiftly crossed for Marouane Fellaini to equalise. Six minutes later Cahill’s fellow half-time substitute Louis Saha won the tie with a close-range header from Steven Pienaar’s pass. In the semi-finals, Everton play Manchester United and Chelsea face Arsenal or Hull. The games will be played at Wembley on 18/19 April, and the final on 30 May.
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