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Against the club who humbled Barcelona last week, it took a well-travelled French striker whom not even Arsène Wenger had heard of before yesterday to claim a famous FA Cup fifth-round draw for Leyton Orient.

Jonathan Téhoué, a 26-year-old substitute who has played for, among others, Bastia and Huddersfield Town, scored a dramatic 88th-minute equaliser that gives Leyton Orient the chance to play a lucrative replay at the Emirates next week. It would be hard to imagine them winning on Arsenal's home turf a week on Wednesday but the prize is even greater: an FA Cup quarter-final tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

It was an embarrassment for Wenger, who gambled on playing a much weaker first team and looked to have edged through with Tomas Rosicky's goal, only for Téhoué to bring the house down with his late strike. In 11th position in League One, Orient were not embarrassed all afternoon and when their chance arrived they took it beautifully.

For Wenger, the replay is more of an irritation. He has the Carling Cup final on Sunday but this was the sting in the tail after that famous win over Barcelona on Wednesday. His team had chances to build upon Rosicky's goal in the second half and then they failed to deal with Téhoué's pace and directness.

For Orient, it might have been the same club who beat Barcelona four days earlier that they faced yesterday but it was certainly not the same team. The only starter for Arsenal from that side was Alex Song, although there were a further seven of Wednesday's team on the substitutes' bench.

In that respect, the teamsheet suggested Wenger was determined this would not go to a replay. Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Jack Wilshere were among those available if needed, but with the Carling Cup final meaning another extra game, Wenger preferred not to use them.

He gave a debut to Catalan-born defender Ignasi Miquel, who has been at the club's academy since September 2008, and the 18-year-old looked very composed in the first half, which was more than could be said at times for his fellow central defender Sébastien Squillaci.

There were times when Orient must have felt very much as Arsenal did playing against Barcelona last week. It was tough for the League One side to get the ball back from their famous opposition at times but that is not to say that Arsenal did significant damage.

They had plenty of shots but very rarely did they manage to get in behind Orient on the wings and cross the ball from dangerous positions. And the longer it went on, the more onerous a task it became for this Arsenal side made up largely of players on the periphery of Wenger's first team.

For the likes of Manuel Almunia, Denilson and Tomas Rosicky, who have been first-choice, first-team players at times during their Arsenal careers, this cannot have been the most rewarding of afternoons. Orient were well-organised with the former Arsenal trainee Jason Crowe sitting just in front of the back four as the holding midfielder.

There was a good performance from another former Arsenal man, the centre-half Ben Chorley and his defensive partner Terrell Forbes. Chorley played in the Arsenal under-18 team that won the FA Youth Cup in 2000 and 2001, captaining them in the second year, and it is remarkable that from that very promising 2001 side Jermaine Pennant has had the most notable professional career.

Arsenal's best chance of the first half came when Andrei Arshavin played in Kieran Gibbs down the left wing and his cross should have been put away by Marouane Chamakh, but the Moroccan was a yard off the pace and could only direct it wide.

There was not much of a goal threat from Orient before the break although that should not diminish the contribution they made. Charlie Daniels, the left-back whom Wenger had identified as one of Orient's best players on Friday, hit a confident drive from a corner played out to him on 14 minutes but cleared Almunia's bar.

Wenger must have been considering unleashing one of his famous substitutes when Arsenal broke through at last. It was an unlikely kind of goal for Orient to concede given that it was a header from Rosicky from a cross from Nicklas Bendtner from the right – the kind of cross Orient had dealt with comfortably for most of the afternoon.

Although they had battled on manfully, Orient's players had started to tire in defence and Arsenal's greater fitness levels were telling. Rosicky should have scored again when the ball was cut back to him by Arshavin, increasingly influential in the second half, on 69 minutes but the Orient goalkeeper Jamie Jones saved well and got up for the rebound.

Téhoué came on as a substitute with 27 minutes remaining and left Song behind on a run down the left wing. His cross was met by Alex Revell who could not keep his shot on target. It had not been a busy afternoon for Almunia.

Téhoué, who has played in France, Belgium and Turkey, caused problems again with eight minutes remaining. His cross to Revell was struck at Squillaci and hit him in the face, which prompted appeals for a penalty. The pace of the French striker at last gave Orient a cutting edge and it was Arsenal who looked tired.

The goal from Téhoué was a beauty. He picked the ball up in the right channel before weaving around the challenges of Gibbs and Miquel before striking his shot low and hard under Almunia before the Arsenal goalkeeper could get down to save it.

Téhoué had done enough to lay claim to a starting place at the Emirates. As for Arsenal, they will have go through it all again. There is no doubt that this was a side good enough to beat Orient yesterday but Wenger will not be free to make quite so many changes in the replay as he did yesterday. He cannot afford to allow it to go to penalties.

Given that Arsenal play against Barcelona just six days after they play Orient it will put further strain on Wenger's resources. The FA Cup is hardly his priority either. But these are the kinds of games that every great side must tick off over the course of a successful season.

Subs: L Orient Carroll 6 (Crowe, h-t), Téhoué 7 (McGleish, 63), M'Poku (Revell,84). Unused Butcher (gk), Omozusi, Mike, Kane.

Arsenal none. Unused Szczesny (gk), Koscielny,

Clichy, Eboué, Fabregas, Nasri, Wilshere. Booked: L Orient Whing. Arsenal Denilson. Man of the match Arshavin. Match rating 6/10. Possession L Orient 41% Arsenal 59%. Attempts on target L Orient 4 Arsenal 12. Referee K Friend (West Midlands). Att 9,136.

Sixth-round draw

* Stoke v West Ham/Burnley

* Man City v Everton/Reading

* Birmingham v Bolton

* Man Utd v Leyton Orient/Arsenal

* Ties to be played over the weekend of the 12/13 March

Labels: Independent, medicine, Orient, taste, their, Wengeraposs