LONDON: Arsenal goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is relishing the prospect of knocking former club Chelsea out of the League Cup following his key role in a penalty shootout win over Crystal Palace.

The Gunners went through to the semi-finals on Tuesday after Kepa saved Maxence Lacroix’s spot-kick in a dramatic 8-7 shootout success following a 1-1 draw with Palace at the Emirates Stadium.

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 Blues’ 2022 League Cup final shoot-out loss to Liverpool. The 31-year-old spent seven years with the Blues before moving to north London in pre-season and he could now deny his old side a spot in the first major final of the current campaign.

Kepa, who has made all three of his Arsenal appearances so far in the League Cup, said: “Right now, if you want a trophy, and that’s something that we want, we have to fight against good teams. Both semi-finals are big games, and it’s going to be tough, but we’ll prepare well for the game, and we’ll be ready and we’ll go for it.”

Arsenal will take on Chelsea for a place at Wembley with the first of two legs to be played at Stamford Bridge on January 14 before the return match at the Emirates on February 3.

The Premier League leaders were on course to reach the semi-finals in regulation time before Marc Guehi’s late equaliser — the third time in Arsenal’s last five fixtures the Premier League leaders’ defence has been breached in or beyond the 90th minute.

“We’ve conceded in a couple of games in the last minute so it’s something that we have to look at,” said Kepa, deputising for Arsenal first-choice keeper David Raya.

“But we are in the next round and we’re happy. We made a huge effort. We should have scored a couple in the first half. We played so well. Then the second half was more like 50-50. Credit to the guys, they took amazing penalties. They kept us in the game, and they gave me an opportunity to make a save.

“Emotionally, you have to be focused, be strong, because obviously when you concede in the last minute and then you have to go to penalties, you need to 100 percent be focused on your penalty takers, you need to save. So it was a change of mindset, and it worked.”

Arsenal, who dominated possession, finally got the breakthrough in the 80th minute when Lacroix turned the ball past his own goalkeeper Walter Benitez as Palace failed to deal with an Arsenal corner.

Benitez had kept his team in the game with a string of fine saves in the first half, twice denying Noni Madueke from close range and also keeping out a header from Gabriel Jesus.

Palace, the FA Cup holders, improved after a poor first half but rarely threatened until Guehi pounced on a knockdown from a free kick to take the game to penalties.

The match was delayed from last week because it clashed with a Palace game in the UEFA Conference League.

Arsenal host Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday. Palace, who are eighth in the Premier League, are at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he was pleased with the resilience shown by his team to hold their nerve despite the late goal they conceded.

“The margins should have been bigger and we will work on that,” he said, referring to this game and their narrow 1-0 win over Everton at the weekend.

Palace manager Oliver Glasner said he was pleased with his team’s second-half showing.

“Walter Benitez kept us in the game, the second half was much more even,” he said, adding that his players now needed to switch off for a day or two to enjoy Christmas with their families after a hectic schedule.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2025