Arsenal reach League Cup semis with shoot-out win over Palace

Kepa Arrizabalaga was Arsenal's conference transfuse quarter-final hero of alexandria with the decisive penalty shoot-out pull through that completed a suffering evening for Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix on Tuesday.

Lacroix's own goal put Arsenal ahead with 10 minutes left at the Emirates Stadium before Marc Guehi snatched Palace's stoppage-time equaliser in the 1-1 draw.

That set the stage for a shoot-out in which both teams scored their first seven penalties.

William Saliba converted Arsenal's eighth kick and Kepa dived to his right to save Lacroix's effort and secure an 8-7 victory.

It was a cathartic moment for the Spanish goalkeeper, who infamously refused to be substituted before Chelsea's League Cup final penalty shoot-out defeat against Manchester City in 2019.

Kepa also missed a spot-kick in the 2022 League Cup final shoot-out loss to Liverpool.

The Gunners will play London rivals Chelsea in the semi-finals over two legs in January and February, with Manchester City facing holders Newcastle in the other last four clash.

Arsenal are into the League Cup semi-finals for a second successive year as they chase their first trophy since winning the FA Cup in 2020.

The north Londoners have only won the League Cup twice, with their last triumph coming in 1992-93, before any of their current squad were born.

After celebrating Christmas on Thursday, Mikel Arteta's men will turn their attention back to the title race with home games against Brighton and third-placed Aston Villa to close out 2025.

Winning their first English title since 2004 is clearly Arsenal's main aim this season, but lifting the League Cup in March would be a significant boost to a club starved of silverware in recent years.

Thrashed at Leeds in the Premier League on Saturday, Palace were playing their third game in six days after a fixture pile-up caused by their involvement in the UEFA Conference League.

Arteta made eight changes to the side that won at Everton on Saturday, but still fielded a strong line-up featuring William Saliba, Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus.

Jesus, who ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in January, started for the first time in 345 days after returning to action as a substitute against Club Brugge earlier this month.

- Kepa redemption -

Noni Madueke, another of Arteta's changes, should have put Arsenal ahead after just three minutes, but the England winger shot straight at Walter Benitez after racing onto Martinelli's pass.

Madueke was denied by Benitez again when Martinelli's delicate chip picked him out in the six-yard box.

Benitez plunged to his left to keep out Jesus's close-range header with another fine save.

Riccardo Calafiori squandered a good opportunity, poking over from 10 yards, before Benitez saved Madueke's blast from Myles Lewis-Skelly's cross.

By the time Jurrien Timber headed wastefully over from 10 yards, Arteta must have been wondering if Arsenal would ever make the breakthrough.

Arteta sent on Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard in the second half, the latter making an immediate impact with a cross that Jesus nodded narrowly wide.

Arsenal finally broke the stalemate in the 80th minute.

Not for the first time this season, it was a Gunners set-piece that did the damage as Saka's corner caused chaos and Lacroix, under pressure from Saliba, poked past Benitez as he tried to clear.

But Palace gave Arsenal a taste of their own set-piece medicine, equalising with their first shot on target in the 95th minute.

Adam Wharton's free-kick was headed down by Jefferson Lerma and Guehi slotted home from close range.

After a host of nerveless penalties in the shoot-out, Kepa ended as Arsenal's saviour.

smg/nf

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