Harry Clarke and Daniel Ballard helped Oldham Athletic and Blackpool FC reach the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

Arsenal had three sets of loanees in line for potential involvement in the FA Cup on Saturday, with Gillingham, Oldham Athletic, and Blackpool all playing in the competition. However, neither Zech Medley nor Trae Coyle made an appearance as Gillingham lost to Exeter City.

As for the other two, Clarke returned from a recent injury to make the starting lineup for Oldham. He played the full 90 minutes for the loan side as they won 2-1 against Bradford City, arguably deserving a bigger scoreline.

Meanwhile, Ballard returned from a red-card suspension and a couple of subsequent games on the bench to start for Blackpool. They thrashed Harrogate Town 4-0 with a dominant second-half performance.

As a result, both players will now join Arsenal in the hat for the FA Cup third round. The draw is on Monday night at around 7:10pm, with various ways to watch it all detailed here. Arsenal are ball number 2 in the draw, Oldham are 64 and Blackpool are 46.

Both Clarke and Ballard earned praise for their performances in this weekend’s wins.

Fan reactions

To Clarke

• “Good graft Harry, most appreciated: looking comfortable on the ball & snappy in the tackle”
• “Growing in stature with every game. Arsenal will be delighted”
• “Class today again Harry, been a great signing for us”

To Ballard

• “He was excellent today. Always a solid wall”
• “You are quality”
• “I am in love with you mister Daniel Ballard, best CB in the club”