Arsenal secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal on Wednesday night.
The visitors got off to a fast start as they took the lead inside the opening seven minutes, when Ben White headed home Declan Rice’s inswinger cross from a corner.
At the other end, Enzo Fernandez’s effort from the edge of the area was comfortably collected by former Blue Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Just before the half-hour mark, Martin Zubimendi almost doubled the Gunners’ lead, but his half volley from a Martin Odegaard free kick floated wide.
Moments later, the hosts got their best chance of the game as João Pedro wriggled his way into the area and drilled in a low cross to the back post, but there wasn’t any blue shirt to tuck home the equaliser.
Estevao was the next to test Kepa, but his powerful strike at the near post was parried away by the Spanish goalkeeper.
Just before the break, William Saliba tried his luck from the edge of the area, but his curling effort clipped the roof of the net.
Four minutes after the restart, Viktor Gyokeres doubled Arsenal’s advantage after Robert Sanchez failed to collect Bukayo Saka’s low cross, and the Swede tapped the ball into an empty net.
In the 57th minute, substitute Alejandro Garnacho pulled one back for the Blues after Pedro Neto’s cross to the back post found him, and the Argentine finished past Kepa.
Minutes later, Odegaard saw his long-range effort fended off by Sanchez before Rice blasted his effort from a free kick wide.
In the 71st minute, Zubimendi restored the visitors’ two-goal lead after Gyokeres flicked the ball into his path and the Spaniard skipped past his markers and drilled in a shot into the net beyond a stretching Sanchez.
Sanchez was forced into a brilliant save with his studs to keep Chelsea in the tie moments later after he narrowed the angle and denied Mikel Merino on the volley.
In the 83rd minute, Garnacho halved the deficit again as the ball broke kindly to him from a Gabriel clearance, and the winger volleyed home his second of the night.
Deep into stoppage time, Gabriel Jesus and Arsenal thought they had won a late penalty after the Brazilian was brought down in the area by Jorrel Hato, but the flag went up for offside.