FA Cup: Leeds United 1 Arsenal 3

Arsenal flexed its proverbial muscle with a 3-1 victory over Leeds in their third-round FA Cup replay at Elland Road on Wednesday.

The English Premier League powerhouse made clear its intentions after just five minutes when Samir Nasri coolly poked the ball past United goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to hand the Londoners the lead.

This was in stark contrast to their third-round proper clash at the Emirates, when Cesc Fabregas scored a 90th-minute penalty to get Arsene Wenger’s side out of jail and into a replay.

Defender Bacary Sagna double Arsenal’s lead in the 35th minute with a powerful strike, with Schmeichel unable to stop the shot from flying into the top left corner of the net despite getting one hand to the ball.

Wenger’s men did not have it all their own way, however, after Leeds midfielder Bradley Johnson scored a screamer in the 37th minute from long range to give the home fans plenty to sing about and Leeds the impetus in their hunt for an equaliser.

But the injection of star pair Fabregas and Robin van Persie on 71 minutes proved an inspired move from Wenger, with the latter heading home a well-weighted Nicklas Bendtner cross five minutes later to seal the win for Arsenal.

Arsenal will host League One club Huddersfield Town in their fourth-round affair on January 30 at the Emirates.