Mikel Arteta does not come across as a laid-back figure. So when he freely admitted that his team spent 10 minutes working on the new back-three formation deployed against Mansfield Town in Saturday’s FA Cup fifth round tie, one could be forgiven for thinking that Arsenal’s manager underestimated their League One hosts.
Nigel Clough’s spirited outfit almost punished Arteta. It took the second-half introduction of Eberechi Eze—a $90 million (£67.5 million) summer recruit who earns twice as much as the entire Mansfield squad combined—to force through a 2–1 win.
