The harsh reality of Darlington's FA Cup exit to Farnborough at the weekend was realised yesterday when the non-league side were drawn at home to Premiership champions Arsenal in the next round.

On the same day Quakers travel 350 miles to face Torquay, Conference side Boro will now play host to the Gunners in the fourth round after their 3-2 win at Feethams.

To remove any doubt over whether or not Quakers would have been paired with Arsenal had they won, Saturday's game was numbered 13 in the FA Cup third round and that number was allocated to the tie's winner, meaning Darlington would have been ball number 13 had they beaten the Hampshire outfit.

The draw will come as a bitter pill to swallow for Quakers fans who already had one eye on the next round after being paired with the Hampshire minnows.

The club have also missed out on the substantial pay-out they would have received for reaching round four.

Quakers would have received £50,000 in prize money for beating Farnborough, while a full live game on TV would have paid out £265,000, 20 minutes of highlights earns £40,000, while radio coverage brings another £10,000.

Disappointed Peter Ashmore, chairman of the Darlington Football Club Supporters Trust said: "Not only have we lost out on what could have been a great game for the club, we've also lost out on a lot of revenue from TV coverage.

"It was disappointing to go out in the way that we did and to see what we've missed out on makes it even harder to take.

"The fans are heartbroken. It would have been great to welcome a team like Arsenal to Feethams."

Last season Quakers narrowly missed out on a fourth round clash with Newcastle, after succumbing to Peterborough in a replay.

Darlington's home game with Rochdale, postponed on New Year's Day, has been rearranged for Tuesday, February 11, kick-off 7.30pm.

Other fourth round ties of note are Manchester United's home game against West Ham, Liverpool travelling to Crystal Palace and Charlton's visit to Fulham.

Read more about the Quakers here.