Arsenal slump to cup defeat ahead of crucial Champions League tie
February 16, 2013 -- Updated 2011 GMT (0411 HKT)
Jack Wilshire ponders another loss to lower-league oppostion as Arsenal exit another domestic cup compettion.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Arsenal knocked out English FA Cup by Blackburn Rovers
- Second time this season that Gunners lose to lower-league team in domestic cup tie
- Arsenal face crucial Champions League tie against Bayern Munich on Tuesday
- In Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund win 3-0 to maintain second place behind Bayern
(CNN) -- Arsenal's eight-year trophy drought looks set to continue as Arsene Wenger's men crashed out of the English FA Cup on Saturday losing 1-0 to Championship side Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates.
The Gunners, whose last silverware came in the same competition in 2005, were undone by a Colin Kazim-Richards' goal in the 72nd minute to send the former Premier League side into the quarterfinal draw.
It is the second time this season that Arsenal have been knocked out of a domestic cup competition by opposition from a lower league -- fourth-tier Bradford City beat them on penalties in the League Cup in December.
U.S. soccer star 'comes out' as gay
Football tactics: Xavi vs. Schweinsteiger
Does Ronaldo carry Real Madrid?
Ibrahimovic: Hero or villain?
With their league title chances also dead in the water, Arsenal only remaining chance of glory this term is in the Champions League. But they will need to pick themselves up smartly with Bayern Munich arriving at the Emirates on Tuesday for the first leg of their last-16.
"We don't need to think too much about the eight season (trophy drought)," Wenger said after the match.
"The players who played today didn't play eight seasons ago and we must focus on the next game."
Fellow Premier League team Everton also ran into trouble against lower division opposition in their FA Cup tie.
David Moyes' side looked to have succeeded where their Merseyside rivals Liverpool had failed in the previous round, as they led 2-1 into injury time against Oldham Athletic. But a late Matt Smith's header earned the League One side a replay.
On Sunday, Chelsea will look to overcome Brentford in their fourth-round reply while Manchester City and Wigan face Leeds United and Huddersfield respectively in the fifth round. Manchester United play Reading on Monday.
Meanwhile in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich are almost home and dry in their bid for a 23rd title after coasting to another easy win on Friday.
Saturday's fixtures saw no slip ups from the runaway leader's closest rivals.
Second-place Borussia Dortmund kept up their faint hopes of retaining their title with a 3-0 win at home to fourth-place Frankfurt.
Third-place Bayer Leverkusen also won on Saturday, beating second-from-bottom Augsburg 2-1 to remain one point behind Dortmund and open up a four-point gap on Frankfurt.
Fifth-place Freiburg overcame Werder Bremen 3-2 at the Weserstadion while Hamburg also won -- 1-0 against Monchengladbach.
But there was deadlock in the game between Mainz and Schalke. Michel Bastos scored a brace -- the second rescuing a point for the Royal Blues.
Greuther Furth remain rooted to the foot of the table after losing 1-0 to Dusseldorf.
Part of complete coverage on
Be part of CNN's coverage of European Champions League matches and join the social debate.
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1052 GMT (1852 HKT)
When Germany's two biggest soccer clubs go head-to-head in the Champions League final, there can only be one winner: German industry.
May 22, 2013 -- Updated 1356 GMT (2156 HKT)
The Bundesliga model of sustainability is very much in vogue. But are Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund creating a dangerous duopoly?
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1106 GMT (1906 HKT)
Bayern Munich super fan Boris Becker takes a tour of London ahead of the 2013 Champions League final.
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1015 GMT (1815 HKT)
CNN takes an exclusive look at the venue of the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
CNN's Pedro Pinto gives his analysis of the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
May 17, 2013 -- Updated 1710 GMT (0110 HKT)
David Beckham embraced his tag as a "gay icon" and has been credited with breaking the big taboo -- homosexuality in football.
May 13, 2013 -- Updated 0750 GMT (1550 HKT)
'King' Alex Ferguson is quitting Manchester United but the $3.17 billion brand will survive, according to experts.
May 7, 2013 -- Updated 1418 GMT (2218 HKT)
Italian football lags behind its other European rivals commercially, but newly-crowned Italian champions Juventus is showing Serie A clubs an example of revival.
April 24, 2013 -- Updated 1434 GMT (2234 HKT)
Luis Suarez's biting of Branislav Ivanovic is the latest episode of moments of madness when soccer stars behave badly.
March 29, 2013 -- Updated 0938 GMT (1738 HKT)
Sunderland's partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation is part of its bid to woo the African market.
March 28, 2013 -- Updated 1558 GMT (2358 HKT)
Each year as many as 700 Cameroonian young footballers leave Africa in search of a professional career abroad.
May 6, 2013 -- Updated 1201 GMT (2001 HKT)
Referees across Europe are feeling the heat. Insulted, threatened, chased off the field, attacked, hospitalized and, tragically, killed.
February 26, 2013 -- Updated 1225 GMT (2025 HKT)
Footballers have a battery of physios, fitness trainers and doctors all striving to fine-tune their physique -- but are they missing a trick?
February 26, 2013 -- Updated 1424 GMT (2224 HKT)
No Englishman has won the EPL title in over 20 years, while a leading manager reveals that English coaches are now "not respected abroad."
May 13, 2013 -- Updated 0933 GMT (1733 HKT)
Hardcore Italian football "ultra" Federico is a Lazio supporter who happily admits directing monkey chants at black players.
March 5, 2013 -- Updated 1123 GMT (1923 HKT)
When Jupp Heynckes made his Bundesliga debut as a player in 1965, the name of Bayern Munich was a new one for the nascent German league.
February 19, 2013 -- Updated 1902 GMT (0302 HKT)
Football's world governing body FIFA has confirmed it will use goal-line technology at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
February 19, 2013 -- Updated 1403 GMT (2203 HKT)
Match-fixing has become a worldwide issue, with hundreds of matches under investigation -- but how do you actually fix a football game?
February 18, 2013 -- Updated 1700 GMT (0100 HKT)
U.S soccer star Robbie Rogers has "come out" as gay on the day he retired from the game, making the announcement on his blog.
February 11, 2013 -- Updated 2231 GMT (0631 HKT)
The wealth of owners like Chelsea's Roman Abramovich often fuels success, but for other clubs such backers prove a mixed blessing.
January 30, 2013 -- Updated 1342 GMT (2142 HKT)
The Secret Footballer reveals the complex issues surrounding racism in the English Premier League.
Today's five most popular stories