Arsenal booked their EFL Cup semi-final spot after eventually beating Crystal Palace 8-7 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the Emirates with Kepa Arrizabalaga the hero.
Mikel Arteta and Oliver Glasner made considerable changes to their respective starting line-ups given the cup fixture lands in the middle of a hectic festive period for both teams.
The Gunners should have been out of sight in the first-half but they finally grabbed what looked sure to be the winning goal in the 80th minute when Maxence Lacroix inadvertently turned his attempted interception into his own net. However, Marc Guehi proved to be Palace's hero again as he swept the ball through the legs of Arrizabalaga just minutes from the end.
Arsenal celebrate
Arsenal needed penalties to reach the EFL Cup semi-final (Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
The main reason behind Arsenal's inability to shrug off the visitors was due to Walter Benitez, who made the most of a rare chance between the sticks with No.1 Dean Henderson rotated.
Benitez pulled off a remarkable save to deny Gabriel Jesus a goal 24 minutes into his return to the starting line-up in his first major action of the game. The Brazilian made his comeback to action earlier this month after suffering a serious ACL injury in January.
Given Viktor Gyokeres’ struggles for form and Mikel Merino’s position up top being that of a head it and kick it auxiliary option, Jesus has the chance to make his claim to be the focal point in Arteta’s frontline.
While it’s early days in his recovery to throw him into the starting line-up during the busiest point of the season, Jesus would have made a huge case about his credentials if his guided header found the far corner.
Mikel Arteta called upon Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka
Mikel Arteta called upon Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka (Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Benitez’s save denied the best chance of the first half before Riccardo Calafiori then wastefully toe-punted an effort over from 10 yards out after the ball broke kindly to him in the box from a corner.
Noni Madueke also forced the Palace second-choice stopper into a strong save at the near post from a half volley. Jurrien Timber was the next Gunner to miss a golden chance as he headed over unopposed after brilliant work from Gabriel Martinelli.
Arsenal should have taken the lead in the first-half but they let Palace off the hook, who proved to be a far more organised and determined unit in the second half, even becoming a threat on the counter-attack as well for the first time in the match.
Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka were introduced in the 67th minute as Arteta looked to turn the tide back in the hosts' favour again.
And Jesus almost caught Palace cold when he was played through on goal immediately after Chris Richards had to be stretchered off with a deep cut on his foot. But he fired over as his lack of sharpness started to tell.
Jesus spurned another chance minutes later, forcing Benitez into a good save, but from the resulting corner Arsenal finally bundled the ball home after Lacroix flicked the ball past Guehi and Jean-Philippe Mateta’s desperate attempts to clear on the line.
With nine minutes of added time due to Richards' injury, Arsenal were unable to hold on as Guehi swept home from point-blank range to send the game to penalties, latching onto the end of Jefferson Lerma's goalwards header.
Arteta's decision not to bring on Viktor Gyokeres for Jesus when the Gunners were hunting a killing second goal proved to be incredibly costly. Jesus should have been replaced earlier, but when he eventually was in the 85th minute for Declan Rice, it showed Arteta's defensive shift, which ultimately saw Arsenal lose their control and lead.
Lacroix had his head in his hands again when he saw his penalty saved by Arrizabalaga to decide the shootout.
Arsenal will now play Chelsea in the semi-finals of the competition after the draw was made last week.
The first leg will be played at Stamford Bridge the week commencing January 12th. With the second leg taking place at the Emirates the week commencing February 2nd.