MANCHESTER, England – Arsenal was held to a 0-0 draw by second-tier Hull in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday, forcing the titleholder to squeeze a replay into its busy upcoming fixture schedule.
Fielding a weakened team ahead of a Champions League match against Barcelona on Tuesday, Arsenal created a slew of chances but was denied by a mixture of poor finishing and good goalkeeping from Eldin Jakupovic. Arsenal had 24 shots.
It was the third straight year that the teams have met in the competition. Arsenal won in the final in 2014 and also in the third round last season, on its way to retaining the trophy.
Scrapping replays in the FA Cup is among measures being considered to trim the fixture list in English soccer.
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