A quickfire first half brace from Olivier Giroud saw Arsenal ease into the FA Cup quarterfinal with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
The Cup holders showed their intent from the start, with Santi Cazorla seeing a freekick palmed away by the Boro goalkeeper for a cornerkick in the fourth minute.
Giroud was next to threaten but was denied in the 14th and 23rd minute as the Gunners looked rampant against the side that sent Premier League champions Manchester City crashing out in the previous round of the competition.
And any chance of another upset was squashed in two brilliant minutes for Arsenal, with Giroud ending a passing sequence – that involved the entire Arsenal team – with the opener after 27 minutes.
The Frenchman followed that up with a stunning second in as many minutes, meeting a Cazorla freekick with a first-time left foot volley.
Arsenal almost got a third five minutes later when a through-ball for Alexis Sanchez evaded the Boro keeper and was goalbound only for Clayton to clear off the line for the hapless visitors.
Cazorla had another freekick saved while Adomah forced a save from Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczęsny as the Gunners went into the break well in control.
Arsène Wenger’s side maintained their dominance in the second period, with Mesut Özil and Kieran Gibbs denied by the Boro keeper, who went on to also keep out Sanchez header to the bottom corner just after the hour mark.
Substitute Tomas Rosicky was denied late on as the Gunners had yo be content with a 2-0 scoreline at full time.
Elsewhere, Bradford City followed up on knocking Chelsea out by reaching a first FA Cup quarterfinal in 39 years with a 2-0 win over Sunderland while Aston Villa also made the last eight with a 2-1 win at home to fellow Premier League strugglers Leicester City.