Arsenal made it through to the Carabao Cup semi-finals, but the night never fully settled into celebration. The result mattered, of course, yet the focus shifted long before penalties decided the contest. Gabriel Martinelli pulled up just before the hour mark. He slowed. He sat down. He tried to continue. It did not last.
From that moment, the atmosphere changed. Leandro Trossard came on and Arsenal reshuffled without fuss, but the sense of comfort went with Martinelli as he walked off. The crowd stayed engaged, yet the edge softened. This was no longer a night about control alone. Arsenal still had the ball. They still dictated most of the play. What they lacked was ease.
ARTETA ON MARTINELLI INJURY
After the game, Mikel Arteta offered little in the way of reassurance. The substitution, he explained, had nothing to do with tactics.
“He could not carry on, so we had to make the sub,” he said.
That was all. No embellishment. No indication of how serious the problem might be. Arsenal did not offer a timeline either, which is often telling. When clarity is absent, it usually means the staff do not yet want to speculate.
Martinelli has already had to manage his body this season. Short absences. Careful returns. Arsenal will not rush this one. There is a heavy run of games ahead, and even small issues can grow quickly during that stretch. For now, the plan is simple. Assess first. Decide later.
A GAME ARSENAL FAILED TO KILL
Arsenal had enough of the ball to make the night more comfortable than it became. They worked the ball into good areas and spent long spells camped in Palace territory. The movement was there. The structure held. What never came was the second goal.
At one-nil, everything stayed open. Palace kept believing because the door was never shut. Arsenal kept playing, but without the cushion that allows small mistakes to pass without consequence. Every loose touch felt louder. Every turnover carried weight. When the equaliser arrived late on, it did not feel dramatic. It felt like the game finally catching up with how it had been allowed to drift.
PENALTIES AND KEPA’S MOMENT
The shootout stretched on longer than anyone wanted. One kick went in. Then another. And another. The tension did not spike. It built slowly. Kepa stood there waiting. He had not been heavily involved during the ninety minutes. This was his moment to stay ready rather than stay warm. When the chance came, he read it right. His save from Lacroix finally ended the sequence and sent Arsenal through.
For Kepa, it mattered. He has spent much of the season on the sidelines, watching rather than contributing. On this night, he had a say. “You have to keep your cool and stay focused,” he said afterwards.
Even then, he did not gloss over the wider issue. Arsenal, he admitted, have allowed games to slip late more often than they would like.
“It’s something we need to improve.”
WHAT IT MEANS GOING FORWARD
Chelsea come next. Two legs. Wembley at the end of the road. That is the broader picture, but it is not the immediate one. Right now, attention stays on Martinelli. Arsenal need bodies as much as momentum at this stage of the season. They have already seen how quickly injuries can tilt a run. Getting through helps. Confidence matters. Feeling secure matters more.
AUTHOR’S INSIGHT
This felt like a night Arsenal escaped rather than dominated. Cup football allows that sometimes. The concern is when it starts to feel familiar. Martinelli’s knock adds another layer of uncertainty, and the late goal showed how thin the margin still is. Arsenal moved on, but not entirely at ease.
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