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BBC's FA Cup host Gary Lineker left red-faced as Martin Keown doesn't get Gary Barlow joke
Gary Lineker's joke didn't get the reception he had hoped for.
Gary Lineker was left red-faced after his Gary Barlow dad joke fell on deaf ears ahead of Arsenal and Liverpool's FA Cup clash. The BBC pundit looked proud of himself after cracking the jest but Danny Murphy and Martin Keown didn't quite get it as the studio fell silent.
The panel were talking about Barlow being in attendance for the game after the camera panned over to the pop star in the stands. Lineker said: “I think he’s a Liverpool fan.” Murphy responded: “I think he is, yeah.”
At which point, Lineker, sensing his moment, quipped: “But don’t take that as a given, how about that one?” in reference to Barlow's boy band 'Take That'. Keown looked stumped and didn’t even respond while Murphy was left scratching his head.
“Yeah it was a pretty awful one wasn’t it," said Lineker, and then quickly moved on. Barlow is a massive Liverpool fan and is often pictured at Anfield watching his beloved Reds play.
But the pop star made the long trip to London this afternoon to watch Liverpool take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the FA Cup third round. Liverpool survived an electric start from the Gunners who came closest through Martin Odegaard hitting the crossbar in the 12th minute.
Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold almost broke the deadlock as well but neither were able to guide their efforts on target while Kai Havertz, deployed as a centre forward, was wasteful in front of goal in the first half.
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Heading into the second stanza, Liverpool will be the happier of the two sides having held Arsenal to 0-0 for 45 minutes away from home but they will need to create more chances if they hope to progress in the oldest national football competition in the world.
A win here would do wonders for the victor's confidence ahead of a crucial Premier League clash between the English giants in four weeks' time. That game will be contested on February 4, also at the Emirates.