Sutton United's Paul Doswell Slams 'Idiots' After Fans Invade Pitch vs. Arsenal

Sutton United manager Paul Doswell condemned the fans who invaded the Gander Green Lane pitch after Arsenal's 2-0 win in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday as "absolute idiots." 

Supporters went onto the pitch after the Gunners booked their place in the quarter-finals thanks to goals from Lucas Perez and Theo Walcott. During the melee, a bottle was thrown at Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, per the Non-League Paper's Sam Elliott:

Doswell insisted whoever threw the bottle "would not be a Sutton fan" and slammed those involved in skirmishes as fans ran onto the pitch at the final whistle, per Jason Burt in the Telegraph: "It disappointed me at the end. They don’t support Sutton. You know that, and I know that. Absolute idiots."

Wenger confirmed that a bottle had indeed been thrown in his direction, per Burt: "I don’t know if it was at me or someone else or the referee, but there was a bottle thrown, yes."

The defeat for Sutton brought an end to a fine run in the FA Cup for a side 17th in the National League table.

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They qualified for the last 16 by beating Championship side Leeds United, having also seen off AFC Wimbledon in the third round.

The south London outfit were looking to repeat the giant-killing heroics of fellow National League side Lincoln City—who beat Burnley to reach the quarter-finals—against Arsenal but were eventually knocked out.

Sutton put in a fine performance, though, and notwithstanding the various incidents after the final whistle, they bowed out of the competition on a high, per BBC Match of the Day:

Arsenal now face Lincoln in the last eight at the Emirates Stadium, a fixture they will be wary of given the Imps' victory against Burnley at Turf Moor.

However, it would be arguably the biggest FA Cup shock of all time should the Gunners not reach the semi-finals, and Wenger's side look in a good position to win the trophy again this season.