LONDON, Jan 7: A second-string Arsenal side proved strong enough to secure a 2-0 victory at Championship (second division) club Burnley on Sunday and with it a place in FA Cup fourth-round draw.

The Premier League leaders won with goals by Eduardo da Silva and Nicklas Bendtner but four other top-flight sides were held by lower league opposition to follow the four others who were upset on Saturday.

Liverpool drew 1-1 at third division Luton Town and Newcastle United were goalless at Stoke City while Derby County and Fulham both had to come from behind to draw 2-2 with Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol Rovers respectively.

At Turf Moor, Arsenal’s unfamiliar line-up had an early scare when Kyle Lafferty hit the bar with a header after five minutes.

However, they went ahead four minutes later with a typically cool finish by Eduardo for his 11th goal of the season and, after Lafferty was sent off for a bad tackle on Gilberto Silva on the hour, and Arsenal settled it through Bendtner 15 minutes from time.

Newcastle travelled to Stoke out of form and there was little in their performance that will have lifted the pressure from manager Sam Allardyce.

The latest return of Michael Owen failed to add spark to their attack and Stoke, going well in fourth place in the Championship, were the more dangerous side and went closest to winning it when substitute Jon Parkin had an effort blocked on the line in the 66th minute.

It was rip-roaring stuff at Luton even if the goal count did not match Liverpool’s 5-3 win at the same stage two years ago.

Luton were one of four teams from the lower half of the third division who played Premier League opposition over the weekend and none of them lost.

On Saturday, Oldham upset Everton 1-0 and Huddersfield beat Birmingham City 1-0 while on Sunday Bristol Rovers led twice at Fulham through Danny Coles and Craig Hinton before David Healy and Danny Murphy made it 2-2.

FA Cup third-round results:

Played on Sunday:

Burnley 0 Arsenal 2

Derby County 2 Sheffield Wednesday 2

Fulham 2 Bristol Rovers 2

Luton Town 1 Liverpool 1

Stoke City 0 Newcastle Utd 0

Played on Saturday:

Aston Villa 0 Manchester Utd 2

Everton 0 Oldham Athletic 1

Barnsley 2 Blackpool 1

Blackburn Rovers 1 Coventry City 4

Bolton Wanderers 0 Sheffield Utd 1

Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Mansfield Town 2

Bristol City 1 Middlesbrough 2

Charlton Athletic 1 West Bromwich Albion 1

Chasetown 1 Cardiff City 3

Chelsea 1 Queens Park Rangers 0

Colchester United 1 Peterborough Utd 3

Huddersfield Town 2 Birmingham City 1

Ipswich Town 0 Portsmouth 1

Norwich City 1 Bury 1

Plymouth Argyle 3 Hull City 2

Preston North End 1 Scunthorpe Utd 0

Southampton 2 Leicester City 0

Southend Utd 5 Dagenham & Redbridge 2

Sunderland 0 Wigan Athletic 3

Swansea City 1 Havant & Waterlooville 1

Swindon Town 1 Barnet 1

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Reading 2

Tranmere Rovers 2 Hereford Utd 2

Watford 2 Crystal Palace 0

West Ham Utd 0 Manchester City 0

Walsall 0 Millwall 0

Wolverhampton 2 Cambridge Utd 1.—Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

Centre vs provinces
Updated 10 Jun, 2026

Centre vs provinces

The reason the centre finds itself in this position is rooted in its failure to expand the tax net and boost revenues.
Party in crisis
10 Jun, 2026

Party in crisis

THE young KP chief minister must be starting to realise just how thorny a seat he occupies. There has been a flurry...
Varsity woes
10 Jun, 2026

Varsity woes

FINANCIAL crises affecting public sector universities across Pakistan are now having an impact on academic...
Doctor attacked
09 Jun, 2026

Doctor attacked

AN act of reprehensible violence has shaken the medical community. On Saturday, an employee of the Provincial Civil...
AJK flare-up
Updated 09 Jun, 2026

AJK flare-up

The situation started deteriorating after a trader affiliated with the JAAC was reportedly shot in an altercation with law-enforcers.
Fault lines
09 Jun, 2026

Fault lines

THE April 8 ceasefire that halted hostilities between Israel and Iran has encountered its most serious test yet....