Lincoln hero Sean Raggett dreaming of fairytale FA Cup clash with Arsenal

Raggett, who scored the sensational late goal against Burnley which put the non-League side in the quarter-finals, is a lifelong Arsenal fan but admits he has never seen them play live.

If Arsene Wenger’s men beat fellow National League side Sutton, he faces the prospect of finally seeing them when he lines up against them with a semi-final date at Wembley at stake.

“It’s true that I have never been to watch Arsenal because I was with Gillingham as a kid and then since I was 16, I’ve been playing football every Saturday,” said Raggett.

“To play against them would be unbelievable.

“Imagine, the first time I see them live in person is when I am playing against them. It would be incredible.”

Raggett’s dramatic late header enabled Lincoln to add the scalp of Burnley to Guiseley, Altrincham, Oldham, Ipswich and Brighton, all beaten on their way to the quarter-finals in three weeks time.

Lincoln manager Danny Cowley welcomed a draw which is set to double their FA Cup earnings to nearly £2million but was not ruling out Sutton landing another blow for the non-League.

“We wish Sutton all the best and I genuinely hope they can do it. If they can, fantastic and if not we play Arsenal,” said Cowley. “For us, it is a win-win situation.

“We either play Sutton for the opportunity of being in the FA Cup semi final or we have a fantastic tie away at Arsenal. It is completely surreal and you feel you are going to wake up at any moment.

“It’s been a great journey, our players deserve this, they have been incredible, it is them who have carried us.”

Sutton chairman Bruce Elliot said: “It is just bizarre. You could not have written this script.

“It is unbelievable. If by some minor miracle we make it through this round, there will one entirely non-League quarter final, so that will mean one non-League side in the semi-finals. That would be something almost as incredible as what is happening tonight with our game.

“I checked about three rounds ago and there are over 700 teams that entered the FA Cup and that is when we were down to the last 30-odd.

“I was thinking to myself ‘how goodness did we get down to this number’ and now there are only 10 clubs who can win it. It is a surreal experience.

“Lincoln and ourselves seem entwined . We were supposed to play them in the league on Saturday and now they have had a fantastic result.”

In the rest of the draw, Chelsea host Manchester United, Middlesbrough play the winners of Huddersfield or Manchester City who replay next week, and Tottenham, who beat Fulham 3-0 yesterday, face Millwall, with all ties to be played between March 10-13.

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