EFL Cup: Kepa's shootout save seals semi-final place for Arsenal

Football writer Ninad Barbadikar reports on Tuesday's thrilling EFL Cup quarter-final between Premier League clubs Arsenal and Crystal Palace.

Arsenal 1-1 Crystal Palace (8-7 on penalties)

Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side marched on to the EFL Cup semi-finals but did it the hard way by winning 8-7 on penalties against Crystal Palace, with Kepa Arrizabalaga saving the 16th spot-kick taken by Maxence Lacroix after 15 successful conversions.

Two late goals had resulted in a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes and a lengthy period of stoppage time.

The Gunners will now face rivals Chelsea to fight for a place in the final at Wembley, with the first leg of their semi-final set for Stamford Bridge on 14 January.

After bossing much of the quarter-final against Palace and creating the majority of big chances, Arteta's men finally found their breakthrough, which came from a corner in the 80th minute. A well-placed delivery into the box from Bukayo Saka found the head of Riccardo Calafiori and eventually went into the net off Palace centre-back Lacroix.

The unfortunate own goal did not dampen Palace's spirits as they went in search of an equaliser. When it finally did arrive, they had club captain Marc Guehi to thank. The England international was the first to react to a knock-on from Jefferson Lerma in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

A fascinating penalty shoot-out then ensued, with both sides delivering spectacular finishes to take the score to 8-7. When the own-goal scorer Lacroix stepped up to take his kick, Arsenal keeper Kepa read its direction and made the save to ensure the Gunners remain on course for their first Wembley appearance in five years.

This was Arsenal's second-highest scoring penalty shootout, after their 9-8 victory against Rotherham in 2003/04. Overall, the Gunners have converted 47 of their last 51 spot-kicks in shoot-outs, giving them a supreme 92 per cent conversion rate.

Arteta told Sky Sports after the game: "I'm very happy to be in the semi-finals. We played against a team who are hard to generate chances against. We generated a lot and we should have scored many more goals."

The Arsenal boss had made eight changes to his starting line-up and admitted: "It's always tough because they don't have the right chemistry when they haven't played together. But their attitude is excellent.

"I think we had some big individual performances tonight. It's great for Gabriel Jesus tonight, after almost a year out, to start a game and make his 100th [Arsenal] appearance. The commitment within the group is incredible and I'm very happy for the boys."

Gunners dominate first 45

Oliver Glasner's Palace side struggled to settle into the game with Arteta setting his team to win the ball high up the pitch. The Gunners were dominant in possession and keen to test the Eagles’ ability to play out from the back.

What was further troubling for Glasner's men was the advanced positioning of Arsenal’s full-backs, with Jurrien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly picking up really clever positions during different phases.

That movement of the full-backs helped isolate Gabriel Martinelli up against Jaydee Canvot, who always seemed one step behind the Brazilian winger.

Before the break, Martinelli would go on to create five chances in the first half alone. Every time though, Arsenal were unable to find a way past Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez, who was pulling off save after save.

Eagles recover and take it to penalties

At the break, the Austrian coach reacted to Canvot and Eddie Nketiah's quiet first-half performances, bringing on Nathaniel Clyne as well as Justin Devenny. The changes worked and Palace looked a lot sharper especially in Arsenal's defensive third.

The visitors continued to give the Gunners problems with their own work-rate against the ball, but Arsenal held on.

Jesus in particular had chances to score. The Brazil international scored a second-half hat-trick at this same stage of the EFL Cup last season.

In the second half this time, his header was the closest he came to giving Arsenal the lead. A cross from substitute and captain Martin Odegaard precisely found his head in the box, with the effort only slightly misguided.

That kickstarted Arsenal’s momentum again and culminated in the corner which forced the own goal from Lacroix. Arsenal’s last three goals at the Emirates have all come from opposition players putting the ball in their own net.

Beyond the opener, Arteta's side had chances to kill off the game, with Timber in particular going close after closing down Guehi inside the Palace box.

They would pay for missing all those chances in 90 minutes and in stoppage time, when Guehi equalised from Lerma’s knockdown.

Speaking to ITV Sport after the match, Glasner praised his overworked team for "the way we played in the second half, the way we matched them. Everybody is telling us, 'You have so many games, you're fatigued, you're tired.' But if that is the case, you can't come back like we did."

In the ensuing shootout, after the first 15 penalties were incredibly all scored, it was Arsenal goalkeeper Kepa who made the EFL Cup headlines again, this time for the right reasons. After his two final defeats on penalties with Chelsea against Manchester City in 2019 and Liverpool in 2022, the Spaniard produced a better outcome by saving from the luckless Lacroix.

If Kepa can help Arsenal beat his former club Chelsea next in the semi-finals, he could be returning to the final this season, against the winners of the other last-four tie between Newcastle United and Man City.

See: Arsenal line-up and report | Palace line-up and report

EFL Cup quarter-finals

Cardiff City 1-3 Chelsea
Man City 2-0 Brentford
Newcastle 2-1 Fulham
Arsenal* 1-1 Crystal Palace
*Won 8-7 on penalties

EFL Cup semi-finals

13 Jan: Newcastle v Man City
14 Jan: Chelsea v Arsenal

3 Feb: Arsenal v Chelsea
4 Feb: Man City v Newcastle

All four matches will kick off at 20:00 GMT and be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK.