MANCHESTER, England — The FA Cup served up another shock for the established powers of English football when Arsenal lost 2-1 at home to Watford on Sunday, ending its bid to win the trophy for a third straight year.
A day after Chelsea tumbled out of the competition, Arsenal also saw its best chance of silverware quashed as Watford joined Crystal Palace and Everton in an unlikely lineup for the semifinals at Wembley Stadium next month.
The last four won’t be completed for a few weeks, after Anthony Martial grabbed an 83rd-minute equalizer for Manchester United in a 1-1 draw against West Ham. Dimitri Payet’s 30-meter free kick that kissed the post on its way in put West Ham ahead at Old Trafford, although the France playmaker was lucky to be on the field having escaped a yellow card for diving minutes earlier.
The replay ensures one final FA Cup match at Upton Park before West Ham leaves to take up residence in the Olympic Stadium in London.
In the Premier League, Harry Kane scored twice as Tottenham beat last-place Aston Villa 2-0 to trim the gap to Leicester to two points ahead of the surprise leader’s match against Newcastle on Monday. Spurs are now six points ahead of third-place Arsenal, completing a bad day for Arsene Wenger’s side.
It marked the worst possible start to a make-or-break week for Arsenal, which is likely to be eliminated from the Champions League by Barcelona on Wednesday before a crucial match against Everton next weekend in its fading Premier League title challenge.
"Our fantastic runhas come to an end on a day where we felt that our performance deserved a win," said Wenger, who is under growing pressure with his team having won just one game in its last seven in a familiar early-spring collapse.
Arsenal had been looking to become the first team in 130 years to win the FA Cup for three straight years and played a full-strength lineup — an indication of Wenger’s priorities ahead of the second leg against Barcelona, which is 2-0 ahead.
Yet Watford looked more dangerous and Odion Ighalo opened the scoring in the 50th when he received a flick-on from strike partner Troy Deeney, evaded marker Gabriel and tucked a finish from eight meters into to the bottom corner.
Adlene Guedioura made it 2-0 by smashing an angled drive into the roof of the net, inside David Ospina’s near post, from Ighalo’s lay-off. Danny Welbeck replied for Arsenal in the 88th but sustained late pressure, including a shot against the post from Alex Iwobi and a glaring miss from Welbeck, didn’t yield an equalizer.
Watford reached the semifinals of the world’s oldest knockout competition for the sixth time in its history, in its first season under coach Quique Sanchez Flores.
"I have memories on televisionof the old Wembley and watchingin Spain and seeing the finals of this competition," Flores said. "Now it isa new Wembley, I’ve just arrived in England, and to get thereis exciting."
If United had legitimate complaints about the scorer of West Ham’s goal, the visitors argued that Martial’s goal should not have counted at the other end. United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger could have been penalized for obstructing West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph as he scurried across his line to try and keep out Martial’s volley on the stretch.
"In our dressing room after the game, it was kind of silent," West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said, before adding about the replay: "It’s going to be anotherepic home FA Cupmatchand we couldn’t ask for more. It’s like Spielberg."
Kane moved level with Leicester striker Jamie Vardy as the league’s top scorer with 19 goals after scoring in the 45th and 48th minutes against Villa, which slipped even closer to relegation. Dele Alli, Kane’s England teammate, set up both goals at Villa Park.
Given the struggles of Arsenal and Manchester City in third and fourth, it is looking increasingly like a two-team race for the title between Leicester and Spurs — a highly unlikely scenario at the start of the season.
