By RYAN TOLMICH
Six months ago, Danny Welbeck was told he wasn’t good enough for Manchester United but, much to Louis van Gaal’s dismay, he looked plenty good in Monday’s FA Cup action.
Welbeck scored a 61st minute winner to lead Arsenal to a 2-1 victory over his former club in Monday’s FA Cup quarterfinal. The Arsenal forward’s goal came via a mistake from Antonio Valencia, whose back pass was intercepted by Welbeck and fired home.
Arsenal opened the scoring in the 25th minute via Nacho Monreal, who scored on an assist from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The hosts tied things up just four minutes later on a Wayne Rooney header that came off of a cross from Angel di Maria, who was sent off in the 76th minute for grabbing referee Michael Oliver following a yellow for simulation.
With the victory, Arsenal earn a matchup with the winner of Reading and Bradford’s return leg while Liverpool or Blackburn will take on Aston Villa.
Here are some more of Monday evening’s news and notes:
MEXICO ANNOUNCE 12 CALLUPS FOR U.S.-BASED FRIENDLIES
The Mexican National Team is set to bring a strong roster for this month’s U.S.-based friendlies.
Forward Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez and goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa headline a list of 12 players called in from abroad for the pair of games. Mexico will take on Ecuador on March 28 in Los Angeles before facing Paraguay in Kansas City three days later.
Also named to the roster are Giovani and Jonathan Dos Santos, Rafael Marquez and Andres Guardado.
Take a full look at those called in below:
Guillermo Ochoa (Málaga), Jesús Manuel Corona (FC Twente), Hector Moreno (Spanish), Javier Hernandez (Real Madrid), Raúl Jiménez (Atletico Madrid), Giovani Dos Santos (Villareal), Jonathan Dos Santos (Villareal), Diego Reyes (Porto), Héctor Herrera (Porto), Andrés Guardado (PSV Eindhoven), Miguel Layún (Watford FC), Rafael Marquez (Hellas Verona)
LATE POGBA STRIKE LEADS JUVENTUS PAST SASSUOLO
Paul Pogba sure does have a flair for the dramatic.
The Juventus midfielder smashed yet another long-distance volley in the 82nd minute to lead his side to a 1-0 victory over Sassuolo. With the win, Juventus is now 11 points clear atop Serie A.
In other Italian action, Miroslav Klose bagged a brace to lead Lazio to a 4-0 victory over Fiorentina. The German was joined on the scoresheet by Lucas Biglia and Antonio Candreva.
SUAREZ TO MISS URUGUAY FRIENDLY FOR ANFIELD CHARITY MATCH
Luis Suarez is set to take the field for charity at his old stomping grounds at the expense of a national team match-up.
Suarez is set to take part in a charity game on March 29 at Anfield, joining former teammates Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher in raising money for the Liverpool Foundation. As a result, the Uruguayan striker will not participate in his national team’s friendly in Morocco on March 28.
In addition to Suarez, the match will feature former Reds Xabi Alonso, Dirk Kuyt, Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina, as well as Thierry Henry, John Terry and Didier Drogba.
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What do you think of Arsenal’s victory? Who else would you like to see include in Mexico’s rosters? Should Suarez be missing an international game to play in a charity match?
Share your thoughts below.
I’d be interested to know how much $$$ the USSF gets from Mexico always having their friendlies here.
“…Mexico will take on Ecuador on March 28 in Los Angeles before facing Paraguay in Kansas City three days later.”
is Sunil responsible for this? he should know mexico is our #1 competitor in concacaf… and no, money is not everything.
It’s Klinsmann’s fault that Mexico’s FA was able to take advantage of our capitalist economy and convince private businesses to let them use their stadiums to make a boatload of money.
I mean…That portion of the roster and their respective home clubs is damn impressive.
Our roster? Not so much.
Not that impressive to my way of thinking. The USMNT may not have as many players playing for TOP teams, but our players actually get on the field consistently. Additionally our players aren’t a bunch of baby’s who cry all game long.
You say it as if whining is a bad thing. Part of the game.
man you really sounded salty, except for Ochoa the players who aren’t getting full 90 every week are in Elite teams competing against the best in the world and everyone else is the star of their respective teams, it is pretty damn impressive.
Do you follow soccer at all? If you really loved the sport you would watch ANY team regardless if it had American players on it or not. With the exception of Hernandez Ochoa and Jimenez, the rest of the players are getting full minutes with their teams. This list is still missing out players who are actually playing consistently but are currently out with injury (Vela) or barely getting back on the field (Pulido). No need to be hating.
Pretty sure the reason Suarez is missing the Uruguay friendly is that long suspension for biting.
Also, the ref in arsenal MU match may have watched the Orlando game as he gave a few yellows for diving.
“Hector Moreno – Spanish”
nice translation, ryan. 🙂