Burnley welcomed Arsenal to Turf Moor, buoyed by their victory over Chelsea in the last round and hoping to claim the scalp of Arsene Wenger’s young side.
Manager Owen Coyle opted to keep the same side that beat Derby County at the weekend, a win which had seen the Clarets move up to fourth in the Championship, whilst Arsenal changed their entire starting line up from the team that returned from Stamford Bridge victorious on Sunday.
Yet the first half was a superb affair, packing with flowing, entertaining football with both goalkeepers seeing plenty of action.
The visitors had the first chance as early as the fourth minute. A clinical move cut the Clarets apart and ended with Vela poking a ball through to Bendtner but his shot was well saved by Jensen.
The action moved straight to the other end with Eagles beating Gibbs on the right before firing a low cross into the box which Fabianski failed to deal with.
The ball rebounded off the Pole and fell to MacDonald who had the easy task of slotting the ball home into an empty net to give the home side the lead.
The goal was the first time the Gunners had gone behind so far in the tournament yet they had the chance to equalise within minutes but again Bendtner was denied by Jensen.
The Danish striker again combined well with Vela but was unable to beat the Burnley stopper with a poor finish.
However, the goal had clearly filled the home side with confidence and they continued to go forwards with Eagles and Paterson, in particular, causing the Gunners all sorts of problems and forcing Fabianksi into several saves.
Indeed just shy of the half hour mark and Coyle’s men almost doubled their lead with two chances in a minute, the second of which saw Paterson receive a superb cross-field pass from Blake, get in behind Silvestre before firing a shot which Fabianski was equal to.
At the other end Arsenal were also testing Jensen, Bendtner setting up first Randell and then Vela for shots but neither player was able to beat the Burnley stopper and the home side headed into the break with their lead intact.
Arsene Wenger changed things at half time with Lansbury replacing Rodgers and within minutes Arsenal almost had their goal.
Carlos Vela picked out Merida on the left, who cut inside and dribbled past two men before flashing a shot agonisingly wide of Jensen’s far post.
However, minutes before the hour mark and Burnley doubled their lead. A throw in on the right came to MacDonald whose forceful run inside beat Randall before he poked it past Fabianski and into the far corner to send the home crowd wild.
Five minutes later and it should have been three. A super ball in from the left by Blake found Paterson who connected with a firm header but Fabianski grabbed the ball on the line.
Burnley continued to press against an Arsenal side that looked short on ideas and had to wait until five minutes from time for another clear chance which again the wasteful Bendtner spurned.
Instead the Clarets held on for a famous victory and after beating both Chelsea and Arsenal will surely fancy their chances of going all the way in this competition and will certainly fear no one in the semi-finals.
Burnley: Jensen, Duff, Carlisle, Caldwell, Jordan, Alexander, Blake (Elliott, 77), McDonald (Gudjonsson, 60), McCann, Eagles, Paterson (Akinbiyi, 74).
Arsenal: Fabianski, Hoyte, Silvestre, Gibbs, Rodgers (Lansbury, 46), Randall (Bischoff, 72), Ramsey, Merida, Wilshere (Simpson, 64), Bendtner, Vela.
GOALS
2-0 Burnley (MacDonald, 57)
1-0 Burnley (MacDonald, 6)
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