LONDON, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Alexis scored the opening goal on his return to Arsenal as Manchester United beat Unai Emery's men 3-1 to reach the last 16 of the FA Cup fourth round here on Friday.

Arsenal took comand in the first 30 minutes before former Arsenal star Alexis latched on to a brilliant reverse ball by Romelu Lukaku, rounded Petr Cech and lofted a brilliant finish into the net in the 31st minute.

Jesse Lingard made it 2-0 two minutes later and Lukaku again provided the assist which found Lingard who had time to take a touch in the box before coolly passing it beyond the reach of Cech.

Arsenal reduced the deficit in the 43rd minute through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who tapped in an Aaron Ramsey pass from close range.

Ramsey nearly levelled the score soon after the interval but his effort was pushed over the bar by Manchester United goalkeeper Sergio Romero.

Paul Pogba went on a driving run at the Arsenal backline but his shot in front of the box was well parried out. Martial followed to fire home to seal the victory for interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Arsenal lost two players during the match, with Sokratis limping off early on with an ankle problem after falling awkwardly, and captain Laurent Koscielny suffered a facial injury, which resulted in 10 minutes of added time.