Arsenal secured their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals after a nail-biting penalty shootout victory over Crystal Palace in a quarter-final clash full of late drama.

The match seemed all but decided when Palace’s defender, Maxence Lacroix, inadvertently deflected the ball into his own net following an Arsenal corner. However, the visitors managed to claw back an equaliser in the dying moments of the game.

Late twists force shootout

Just as Arsenal were on the verge of claiming victory, Adam Wharton delivered a threatening free-kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

Jefferson Lerma managed to get a touch, and Marc Guéhi was the quickest to react, scrambling the ball in from close range to push the game into a penalty shootout.

Arsenal nearly avoided the need for penalties, but Declan Rice’s final attempt was thwarted by a spectacular save from Palace’s goalkeeper, Walter Benítez, who was instrumental in keeping Palace’s hopes alive throughout the match.

Arrizabalaga proves decisive

The penalty shootout was of high quality, stretching to 8-7 before the decisive moment arrived. Lacroix, already unfortunate with the own goal, saw his spot-kick saved low to the right by Kepa Arrizabalaga, handing Arsenal progression and ending Palace’s resistance.

The save underlined Arrizabalaga’s importance on the night, delivering when it mattered most to secure Arsenal’s place in the last four.

Arteta rotates, performance remains uneven

Mikel Arteta made eight changes from the side that beat Everton at the weekend, including handing Gabriel Jesus his first start in 345 days following recovery from an ACL injury.

The heavy rotation showed, with Arsenal lacking fluency and squandering several chances before the late drama unfolded.

William Saliba conceded the unnecessary free-kick that led to Palace’s equaliser, though the error ultimately proved non-fatal thanks to Arsenal’s performance in the shootout.

Semi-final showdown confirmed

The Gunners now face Chelsea over two legs in an all-London semi-final. While progression will satisfy Arteta from a results standpoint, the overall performance showed that Arsenal remain short of the levels they set earlier in the season, despite moving past a recent run of inconsistent results.