Gunners down Magpies

Emmanuel Adebayor scores a brace to take them into the fifth round with a 3-0 win

LONDON: Emmanuel Adebayor ensured his tortuous week ended on a high as his brace earned Arsenal a 3-0 FA Cup win over Newcastle.

The Togo striker began this fourth round tie under the darkest of clouds, having been involved in an ugly on-field spat with his strike partner Nicklas Bendtner in last Tuesday’s 5-1 Carling Cup defeat at rivals Tottenham.

Adebayor had been fined by his manager Arsene Wenger for allegedly head-butting Bendtner after the pair quarrelled but if he was nursing a grievance, he did not show it.

Instead, two typically dazzling second-half strikes — and a late own goal from Nicky Butt — shot Arsenal into the fifth round on Saturday and left Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan still searching for his first win since his much-hyped return to Tyneside.

Adebayor, for his part, had cut a largely frustrated figure, lacking both the supply and the support he requires to flourish. But, like all the best players, the 23-year-old is capable of flowering even in such barren conditions.

Six minutes after half-time, a lightning quick Arsenal break culminated in Eduardo curling an exquisite shot off the left-hand post. The rebound eventually fell to Adebayor, who showed supreme strength in holding off the challenge of Claudio Cacapa and then a clinical touch in powering a ferocious finish past Given.

Adebayor might have helped himself to a second moment later but the striker was tackled just as he was cocking the trigger by the sprawling James Milner.

His frustration was eased when he netted his second in the 84th minute. Late on Fabregas’ free-kick was inadvertently nodded into his own net by Butt.