Preston vs Arsenal match report: Olivier Giroud strikes at the death to knock battling Lilywhites out

Preston North End 1 Arsenal 2: The hardworking hosts went ahead through Callum Robinson's opener but Arsenal's new-found 'refusal to lose' saw them through

Giroud broke Lancastrian hearts with his late finish (Getty)

As befits the most successful manager in the history of the FA Cup, Arsene Wenger has never suffered the peculiar humiliation of being knocked out in the third round. However, what might be his last tilt at the competition could have ended in abject failure.

As they had on Tuesday night at Bournemouth, his side demonstrated what their manager called their “refusal to lose”. On the south coast, Arsenal had come from three down to draw. In the Pennines their deficit was only one, although Wenger knew it could have been more. This time they came back to win.

Olivier Giroud had been the catalyst at Bournemouth and he scored the winner with minutes remaining, seizing on Lucas Perez’s wonderful back-heel as the ball ran loose. As a goal it was nothing like as spectacular as Aaron Ramsey’s that began the second half, a thunderous shot that crashed into the back of Chris Maxwell’s net, but it was decisive, met with the beery cheer from thousands of London throats.

From the moment Ramsey scored what was his first goal of the season, Arsenal were direct and dominant. Shkodran Mustafi forced a fine save from Maxwell while Giroud had a goal ruled out for offside. Preston might have hoped for a replay but they received not even that consolation.

Robinson gave Grayson's men the lead with a well-placed finish early on (Getty)

Virgin Trains were the official sponsor of this tie, although the last direct train that would carry Arsenal fans back to Euston left 45 minutes after the final whistle. For those who intended to catch that service this game would be every bit as tight as the journey to the station.

After as incoherent a first-half performance as Arsenal could ever have delivered in an FA Cup tie under Wenger’s management, some of those away supporters who packed the Bill Shankly Stand at Deepdale might have wondered whether it was worth making an earlier train.

Arsenal went into the interval a goal behind, although in truth they ought to have been trailing by three or four. It was the sort of January night Arsenal are not supposed to enjoy; a raucous northern ground and mist seeping in great clouds through the girders that carried the floodlights.

Wenger looked exasperated on the touchline for much of the first half (Getty)

If you had been told Arsenal would have gone into the interval behind, you might have thought they would have succumbed to Preston’s grit and physicality but in fact they had been outplayed with skill and pace.

As he ran at the Arsenal defence early in the game, Aiden McGeady displayed both qualities. Since his return from Spartak Moscow, McGeady had shown little of his true qualities but now he did, turning Ramsey brilliantly at speed. Jordan Hugill was the target for McGeady’s pass but the forward slipped under pressure from Nacho Monreal.

The ball ricocheted out to 21-year-old Callum Robinson, a product of the Aston Villa academy who had been allowed to join Preston permanently in the summer. They have made many mistakes at Villa Park in recent seasons and, on this evidence, allowing Robinson to leave looks like one of them. Robinson ran over to a television camera grinning wildly.


 Ramsey caught Preston cold with his equaliser shortly after half-time (Getty)

Suddenly, Preston threatened every time they crossed their own halfway line. Wenger had taken a reasonably strong side to Lancashire but the defence featuring the teenaged Ainsley Maitland-Niles at full back, looked flimsy. There was also very little by way of reinforcements on Arsenal’s bench.

Midway through the half, Robinson broke through again down the right and delivered a low cross that fizzed across the face of David Ospina’s goal. It went inches from the tips of Hugill’s sliding boots – think Paul Gascoigne in the semi-final of Euro ’96.

Then Ben Pearson, who learnt his football at clubs Gazza would recognise – Seaham Red Star, Consett and Gateshead – delivered a fierce shot that spilled out of Ospina’s hands for a corner. Panic seemed to come as standard in the Arsenal defence. Mustafi cleared Paul Gallagher’s chip off the line and Robinson bundled the ball home for what would have been Preston’s second had Paul Huntingdon not been judged to have fouled Ospina.

You sensed that were Preston to win this game, they would have to take a two-goal lead into the interval. The last time Arsenal had come to Deepdale to face a Preston side managed by David Moyes, they had recovered from two goals down to win 4-2 and, as the second half wore on, it seemed there could only be one winner. It would not be Preston who had last tasted victory over Arsenal in 1960 when Wenger was 10 years old.

Preston North End (4-4-2): Maxwell, Vermijl, Huntingdon, Clarke, Cunningham; McGeady, Pearson, Johnson (Horgan 81), Gallagher (Browne 60) Robinson, Hugill (Makienok 78). Substitutes: Lindegaard (g), Makienok, Doyle, Spurr, Pringle.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Maitland-Niles (Holding 90), Mustafi, Gabriel, Monreal; Ramsey, Xhaka; Oxlade-Chamberlain (Welbeck 84), Iwobi, Perez (Reine-Adelaide 90); Giroud. Substitutes: Martinez (g), Jenkinson, Dasilva, Willock.

Referee: Robert Madley

Attendance: 22,185