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A different competition but a familiar story for Arsenal, who found themselves in another arm-wrestle of a match.
With the levelling factors of a poor pitch and a heavily-rotated Gunners side, Mansfield threatened at times to pull off an almighty FA Cup upset.
Will Evans pounced on some hesitant defending from Cristhian Mosquera to equalise, after Noni Madueke’s strike had opened the scoring, but Eberechi Eze came to the rescue off the bench with a brilliant finish.
This was about ticking off another assignment, with the nature of the performance again largely irrelevant. Arsenal did what they had to, and that is all Mikel Arteta will care about.
Noni Madueke celebrates opening the scoring
REUTERS
Arsenal keep juggling plates
One domestic cup final to come, and another is now just two wins away for Arsenal.
They have lost just three times this season, across all competitions. Late wonder goals were conceded against Liverpool and Manchester United, while Aston Villa snatched victory in stoppage time.
The question is how long Arsenal can maintain this charge on all fronts. It has been an exhausting season for the squad, physically and mentally.
The impact of that was clear here. Arteta had to rotate, making nine changes, and the Gunners were made to fight even against League One opposition.
With a Carabao Cup final already secured, it is the FA Cup that is now the obvious fourth priority for Arsenal this season.
There will be decisions for Arteta to make in the quarter-finals, particularly if Arsenal draw Manchester City or another top side.
For now, though, quadruple whispers have been extended for at least another ten days.
Max Dowman was the standout performer
Arsenal FC via Getty Images
This was some way for Max Dowman to return to the first team after more than three months out with an ankle injury.
With Madueke largely at wing-back, the 16-year-old had the freedom to play centrally and he was comfortably Arsenal’s best player in the first half.
After half an hour, Dowman led the stats for shots, ball recoveries and touches in the opposition box.
He created chances for Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli with perfectly-weighted passes and went close himself, cushioning a volley too close to the goalkeeper.
Shortly after Mansfield equalised, Dowman took matters into his own hands and nearly restored the lead. He drove forward, showed sensational footwork on the edge of the area and worked space for a shot that was just tipped away.
Even though he was replaced with 15 minutes remaining, Dowman’s 13 touches in the Mansfield box was by far the most of any player in the match.
His team-mates clearly trust him and, on this evidence, Arteta must keep doing so as well.
Mikel Arteta will have learned a valuable lesson
AFP via Getty Images
Arteta experiment fails to deliver
There is rarely much variation to the Arsenal formation under Arteta, beyond perhaps slight midfield tweaks or different roles for his full-backs.
Here, though, it was all change. That was largely due to the circumstances, with Arteta keen to rotate. As Ben White was injured and Myles Lewis-Skelly was suspended, options were limited.
As a result, it was a lesser-seen back-three shape for the Gunners. Christian Norgaard sat in front of them, and further forward, it was all very fluid.
At times, it was Havertz in midfield, at other points, he pushed up alongside Gabriel Jesus, and Dowman came inside.
It was an unfamiliar shape, and it showed as Arsenal struggled for rhythm in the opening 20 minutes. Not helped by a bobbly pitch, the connections were lacking, and Mansfield found it easy to get numbers forward from midfield.
Tellingly, Arteta brought on Piero Hincapie when Trossard went down injured before half-time, rather than persisting with the back-three.
Arsenal looked far more comfortable after the reshuffle, and within three minutes they were in front through Madueke.
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