Kepa Arrizabalaga was Arsenal’s League Cup quarter-final hero with the decisive penalty shoot-out save that accomplished a depressing night for Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix on Tuesday.
Lacroix’s personal objective put Arsenal forward with 10 minutes left on the Emirates Stadium earlier than Marc Guehi snatched Palace’s stoppage-time equaliser within the 1-1 draw.
That set the stage for a shoot-out during which each groups scored their first seven penalties.
William Saliba transformed Arsenal’s eighth kick and Kepa dived to his proper to save lots of Lacroix’s effort and safe an 8-7 victory.
It was a cathartic second for the Spanish goalkeeper, who infamously refused to be substituted earlier than Chelsea’s League Cup remaining penalty shoot-out defeat towards Manchester Metropolis in 2019.
Kepa additionally missed a spot-kick within the 2022 League Cup remaining shoot-out loss to Liverpool.
The Gunners will play London rivals Chelsea within the semi-finals over two legs in January and February, with Manchester Metropolis going through holders Newcastle within the different final 4 conflict.
Arsenal are into the League Cup semi-finals for a second successive yr as they chase their first trophy since successful the FA Cup in 2020.
The north Londoners have solely gained the League Cup twice, with their final triumph coming in 1992-93, earlier than any of their present squad have been born.
After celebrating Christmas on Thursday, Mikel Arteta’s males will flip their consideration again to the title race with residence video games towards Brighton and third-placed Aston Villa to shut out 2025.
Successful their first English title since 2004 is clearly Arsenal’s essential purpose this season, however lifting the League Cup in March can be a major increase to a membership starved of silverware lately.
Thrashed at Leeds within the Premier League on Saturday, Palace have been taking part in their third recreation in six days after a fixture pile-up brought on by their involvement within the UEFA Convention League.
Arteta made eight modifications to the facet that gained at Everton on Saturday, however nonetheless fielded a powerful line-up that includes William Saliba, Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus.
Jesus, who ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in January, began for the primary time in 345 days after returning to motion as an alternative towards Membership Brugge earlier this month.
– Kepa redemption –
Noni Madueke, one other of Arteta’s modifications, ought to have put Arsenal forward after simply three minutes, however the England winger shot straight at Walter Benitez after racing onto Martinelli’s go.
Madueke was denied by Benitez once more when Martinelli’s delicate chip picked him out within the six-yard field.
Benitez plunged to his left to maintain out Jesus’s close-range header with one other high-quality save.
Riccardo Calafiori squandered alternative, poking over from 10 yards, earlier than Benitez saved Madueke’s blast from Myles Lewis-Skelly’s cross.
By the point Jurrien Timber headed wastefully over from 10 yards, Arteta will need to have been questioning if Arsenal would ever make the breakthrough.
Arteta despatched on Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard within the second half, the latter making a direct impression with a cross that Jesus nodded narrowly large.
Arsenal lastly broke the stalemate within the eightieth minute.
Not for the primary time this season, it was a Gunners set-piece that did the injury as Saka’s nook precipitated chaos and Lacroix, underneath stress from Saliba, poked previous Benitez as he tried to clear.
However Palace gave Arsenal a style of their very own set-piece drugs, equalising with their first shot on the right track within the ninety fifth minute.
Adam Wharton’s free-kick was headed down by Jefferson Lerma and Guehi slotted residence from shut vary.
After a bunch of nerveless penalties within the shoot-out, Kepa ended as Arsenal’s saviour.
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