Arsenal put a nightmare week of football behind them to dispatch non-league side Lincoln on Saturday and book their spot in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Arsene Wenger's men ran five past Danny Cowley's men to bring the Imps fairy tale story to an end and briefly settle the troubled waters at the Emirates.

As a result, Arsenal remain in contention to claim a 13th FA Cup title - but whether or not such a feat will be enough to keep Wenger in a job is another matter.

Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Petr Cech – 5 out of 10 Had very little to do throughout, aside from one strike from Arnold. AFP/Getty Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Kieran Gibbs – 6 out of 10 Impressed going forward and his deliveries opened up the Lincoln back four. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Laurent Koscielny – 7 out of 10 Held the shape well at the back, did his job and made light work of the Lincoln attacks. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Shkodran Mustafi – 5 out of 10 Struggled with the strength of Rhead – was simply not physical enough for him. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Hector Bellerin – 6 out of 10 Impressed going forward and played with with confidence, both on and off the ball. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Granit Xhaka – 6 out of 10 Battled relentlessly throughout and managed to keep the Lincoln midfield quiet. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Aaron Ramsey – 6 out of 10 Scored the fourth following a clever Sanchez cross. Worked well going forwards. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5 out of 10 Was subbed in the early stages of the game due to injury. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Theo Walcott – 7 out of 10 He looked clinical today and managed to open the scoring with a strike inside the box. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Olivier Giroud – 5 out of 10 Got himself on the scoresheet, but it was a quiet display overall. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Alexis Sanchez – 7 out of 10 His late goal was an example of how he can make a goal out of nothing. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Paul Farman – 5 out of 10 Made a handful of important saves, but it’s never good to concede five. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Bradley Wood – 5 out of 10 Defended aggressively, but fairly. Was not afraid to put his body on the line. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Sean Raggett – 6 out of 10 Was well positioned and managed to defend a number of Arsenal crosses. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Luke Waterfall - 6 out of 10 He led by example at the back, but it just was not enough. Unlucky with the own goal. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Sam Habergham – 5 out of 10 He was outclassed – struggled to keep up with The Gunners pace going forward. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Nathan Arnold – 6 out of 10 Came close to scoring the opener, only to be denied by the finger tips of Cech. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Alex Woodyard – 6 out of 10 The energetic midfielder showed a good understanding of the game, but could have assisted his strikers more. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Alan Power – 5 out of 10 Drifted in and out of the action. Quite simply he looked outclassed. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Terry Hawkridge – 5 out of 10 Defensively he tracked back well, but he failed to provide an outlet going forward. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Matt Rhead – 6 out of 10 Bullied the Arsenal defenders at times. Made it hard work at the back. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Jack Muldoon – 6 out of 10 Chased every over the top ball, but it just was not enough to make a real impact. Getty Images

Here's five things we learned:

Lincoln’s Imps steal the show

On the pitch, the gulf in quality was, eventually, always going to show. But in the stands, the 8,942 travelling Lincoln supporters were more than a match for their more illustrious counterparts.

The fun and games started early when smoke from flares set off by members of the ‘Impvasion’ forced Covent Garden tube station to temporarily close. Shortly after that, a number of the away fans covertly joined an anti-Wenger protest, chanting ‘Wenger in’, in the misguided hope that nobody would notice.

They were in fine voice throughout, singing loudly even as Arsenal went 3-0 up thanks to a Luke Waterfall own goal, and were a credit to their club. As for the Arsenal fans? They at least had time to buy a new banner.

Arsenal supporters continued their protests against Wenger at the match (Getty)

Rhead offers an altogether different threat

On Tuesday evening at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal’s defence found themselves trying – and failing – to keep Robert Lewandowski quiet. On Saturday evening, the Pole’s place was taken by a 16-stone 32-year-old whose nomadic career has involved stopovers at Kidsgrove Athletic, Congleton Town and Corby.

He may not have got on the score-sheet, and he certainly won’t be appearing at the Emirates again anytime soon, but Rhead made a nuisance of himself until being withdrawn in the second-half. He held the ball up well and made more passes than any of his team-mates, nearly all of them with his back to goal.

The highlight of his performance? That would probably be an admiring Ian Wright commenting at half-time that he would have “loved to have played alongside Rhead”. A real treat for when the big man watches the game back tomorrow morning.

But reality eventually hits home

It's been quite the cup run for Lincoln. Victories against Ipswich, Brighton and then Premier League side Burnley saw the Imps become the first non-league side since 1914 to reach the last eight of England's oldest competition. But in spite of what has been a nightmare week for the Gunners, Lincoln were ultimately unable to prolong their fairy tale story. The visitors were spirited in their display, working hard out of possession and pressing hard, but Dowley's men struggled to keep hold of the ball as the game wore on and found themselves outclassed as Arsenal's quality shone through. Lincoln have written themselves into the history books but reality was always going to hit home.

Lincoln fought bravely in defeat (Getty)

Arsenal hold their nerve

Having been swept aside at Anfield one week ago and then ignominiously dumped out of Europe by Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, there was always going to be questions over which Arsenal side would turn up on Saturday. The on-going uncertainty around Wenger's job simply added to the anxiety engulfing the Emirates but, when push came to shove, Arsenal held their nerve to emerge on top. Even so, it took 45 minutes for the home side to truly find their rhythm and brush aside the non-league side following their gallant first-half performance. But by the final whistle there was no doubting that Arsenal's victory was deserved and seemingly inevitable.

Arsenal fired five past the non-league side (Getty)

When will Xhaka learn?