Stoppage-time winner has Arsenal gunning for Cup glory

Arsenal held firm before scoring in stoppage time through Kai Havertz to beat visiting Chelsea 1-0 on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) and seal a 4-2 victory on aggregate over their London rivals.

Without a trophy since 2020,  Mikel Arteta's team lead the Premier League by six points in their  bid to become English champions for a first time since 2004. They also finished top of the Champions League standings after eight straight wins. 

For good measure, Arsenal have also advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup.

"The last three or four years we've been at the top of the Premier League competing and got really close but haven't been good enough," said Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, referring to the team's three straight runners-up finishes.

"That's why this season we have that extra desire and fire in our bellies to go one step further in every competition. There's a long way to go, but to be in a Cup final with this club is amazing."

Arsenal will play Manchester City or Newcastle in the March 22 final. City lead 2-0 heading into the second leg at home on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT).

Havertz played for Chelsea from 2020-23 and his finish that sealed the two-legged win over his old club wasn't too dissimilar to the one that saw off Manchester City and clinched the Champions League title for the Stamford Bridge club in 2021.

Having come on as a 69th-minute substitute on Tuesday, the German forward had the final say when he latched on to Rice's pass on a counterattack and rounded goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to slot home.

It was virtually the last kick of a scrappy and cagey match that was a contrast to Arsenal's 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge last month.

Chelsea were happy to soak up pressure for the opening hour and stay in the contest.

The visitors then brought on Cole Palmer and Brazilian winger Estevao in an attempt to take the game to Arsenal, but found the best defence in England too sturdy to breach, only managing long-range efforts and a couple of dangerous set-pieces.

Arsenal will be looking for a third League Cup title, after 1987 and 1993. They have been runners-up six times, most recently to City in 2018.

It would be a second trophy under Arteta and a first since 2020, when Arsenal won the FA Cup at the end of his first season as manager.

Arsenal are seeking a trophy to validate their clear improvement under the Spanish coach in recent years. Aside from near-misses in the Premier League, they have had four straight semi-final exits in various competitions, including to Newcastle in last season's League Cup.

Australian Associated Press