Gary Lineker believes FA Cup ties going to extra-time is unnecessary after Manchester United and Arsenal clashed in the third round. The oldest national football competition in the world proved it was alive and well during the latest spare of third round ties. Non-league Tamworth fought bravely in their eventual 3-0 loss against Tottenham, and Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils sent Mikel Arteta’s Gunners packing from the penalty spot in two pulsating ties on Sunday afternoon.
However, a slight veil of controversy covered the round. This was the first year that replays ceased to take place as usual after the FA announced the change in April last year - much to the disapproval of clubs in the EFL and below. Now, BBC pundit Lineker, who won the competition with Spurs in 1991, believes that if replays have been expelled, then so should the 30 minutes of extra-time that follow a level tie.
“We still have extra-time. Personally, I think if they’re going to take away replays, they should take away extra-time,” Lineker revealed on The Rest Is Football podcast. “Because otherwise, it really favours the strong teams - because they’ve got bigger squads, and they can put on their best players in extra-time like Spurs did [against Tamworth]. And they went on to win.”.
Ange Postecoglou’s side couldn't break down the National League side inside 90 minutes on Sunday afternoon. But, having summoned the likes of captain Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski from the bench for the additional period, they eventually cruised to a comfortable win.
