Arsenal booked their place in the final of the EFL Cup this evening courtesy of a 2-1 victory over London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
The first leg of the semi-final ended goalless a fortnight ago, but it took just seven minutes for the deadlock to be broken this evening when Eden Hazard tucked his finish into the bottom corner.
Arsenal were level within five minutes through an unfortunate Antonio Rudiger own goal, though, and the Chelsea defender also had an unwitting role to play in the winner as his touch deflected the ball into the path of Granit Xhaka, who stabbed home.
Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
It promises to be a very intriguing contest between two teams who returned to form in emphatic fashion at the weekend, but nothing has separated them in their previous four meetings so far this term so it is very much still to play for after their goalless first leg two weeks ago.
Manchester City await the winners in the final, so let's waste no time in looking at the team news from North London...
Well, both have named pretty strong starting lineups as you would expect, and the good news for Arsenal is that Nacho Monreal is passed fit to feature from the off this evening having been a doubt with a leg injury.
Monreal was an unlikely source of one goal and two assists against Crystal Palace at the weekend and could get the chance to bomb forward down the left flank again if, as the team sheet suggests, he will be playing in that wider role. Monreal has spent much of his season in a back three so far, and has impressed in doing so too, but in the absence of the benched Kolasinac he looks like continuing on the left tonight - having also played there against Palace.
Elneny has previously featured in defence this season and could slip in again to make it into a back three once more - with Bellerin and Monreal as the wing-backs - but it looks as though it will be four at the back with Elneny partnering Xhaka in the middle of the park.
Ozil has even more weight on his shoulders to perform now following the exit of Alexis Sanchez, although the incoming Henrikh Mkhitaryan - who is cup-tied for tonight's match having featured for Manchester United in the quarter-final - should help to share the creative burden in the team.
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Indeed, there is only one change from that weekend win as David Ospina replaces Cech in goal. In contrast, Wenger has made four changes to the team which began the first leg of this tie just two weeks ago.
Spanish duo Cesc Fabregas and Alvaro Morata miss out with hamstring and groin injuries respectively - having also missed the win over Brighton at the weekend - and are replaced in the team by Bakayoko and Pedro, the latter of whom returns from suspension.
Gary Cahill has recovered from a thigh problem sufficiently to start on the bench, while behind that back three Willy Caballero retains the gloves due to an ankle injury for usual number one Thibaut Courtois.
Hazard recently insisted that Chelsea didn't need to sign a new striker this month as he could fill in if necessary, and he will get that chance this evening. It looks as though he will play in the centre-forward role again, with Willian and Pedro flanking him.
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There is the notable inclusion of Ross Barkley on the bench once again too, and the England international could make his Chelsea debut - and his first appearance of the whole season - this evening. Danny Drinkwater is also amongst the subs, having recovered from an ankle injury.
It is the most realistic source of silverware for both clubs this season - even with the prospect of facing Man City in the final - and that is especially the case for Arsenal. The Gunners are a whopping 23 points off the pace in the Premier League and have already been eliminated from the FA Cup, so it is only this and the Europa League left for Arsene Wenger's side now this term.
Wenger has reached the final of this competition twice - in 2007 and 2011 - but on both occasions he was on the losing side and Arsenal have not lifted this trophy since 1992-93. That is one of only two times they have ever gone all the way in this competition, which is a record made even the more remarkable when you consider that they have won the FA Cup a whopping eight times since they last won this trophy, including seven under Arsene Wenger.
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It would be another piece of silverware for the club, though, and a victory over Chelsea should also have the knock-on effect of giving them the confidence to close the gap on the top four in the Premier League.
The Gunners are also five points worse off than at the same stage of last season, so one can fully understand the frustration they have at their club's current plight, but the race is far from over yet and the Europa League also provides them with an alternative route back into the Champions League.
Arsenal do often suffer a dip in form in January, but victory tonight would see them well and truly back to winning ways and would give them successive victories for the first time since December 19.
However, all of those matches came at home, and prior to those three successive wins they had lost four of their previous six League Cup outings here at the Emirates Stadium, so they are at least in better form in front of their own fans now.
The Gunners are six unbeaten here since their thrilling 3-1 loss to Manchester United at the start of December - a game they could have easily won but for the heroics of De Gea - winning four of those.
However, they have also conceded six goals in their last three home outings, which is the same number as they let in in their previous 14 before that.
Hazard and Willian gave the champions a two-goal lead inside just six minutes at the Amex, although the final score of 4-0 was a bit harsh on the hosts, who saw two good penalties appeals turned down. Nevertheless, it crucially ended a run of five consecutive draws for Chelsea across all competitions - although that run does include one game in which they went on to beat Norwich on penalties.
Five points now separate Chelsea from Tottenham in fifth, while they are eight ahead of Arsenal, so while their title defence was quickly blown out of the water by the relentless pace set by Manchester City, Chelsea are at least well placed to qualify for the Champions League again next season.
Chelsea come into the match in decent form even accounting for those five consecutive draws, though, losing none of their last 12 games across all competitions stretching back to December 9.
However, their first clean sheet of the season in this competition did not come until the first leg of this tie earlier this month, having conceded exactly one goal in their wins over Nottingham Forest, Everton and Bournemouth to reach this stage.
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That triumph three years ago was their fifth taste of League Cup glory - a tally only Liverpool can beat - and both Chelsea and Arsenal have reached the final seven times apiece in the past. Only Liverpool, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur have made it into the showpiece more often.
Chelsea have failed to win any of their last three EFL Cup games away from home inside normal time, losing to Stoke on penalties and West Ham last season, while also needed extra time to beat Leicester during that run. Tonight will be their first away game in this season's competition, though.
Only Manchester City have picked up more points on their travels in the Premier League while no team has conceded fewer goals, so tonight's match pitches the top-flight's second-best home attack against the joint-best away defence. It promises to be a good one!
This one is a very tough one to call considering how tight all of the games between these two sides have been this season. Hopefully this one will be more like their only meeting at the Emirates so far this term rather than the Stamford Bridge stalemates, but either way it could go down to extra time and even penalties. I will go for Chelsea to edge it, though, purely because they have the sturdier defence.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea (after extra time)
This will be just the third time that these two sides have met five times in the same season - also doing so in 2003-04 and 1946-47, and they could achieve a very rare record should this one also end as a stalemate after extra time.
Of course, there has to be a conclusion one way or the other tonight - as was the case in the Community Shield - but it goes to show how little there has been to separate these two sides this season.
The Premier League and cup competitions seem to be different beasts for these two sides too; Chelsea have only lost one of their last 13 league clashes with Arsenal, winning seven of those, whereas Arsenal are unbeaten in their last four cup games against the Blues - winning two Community Shield and the FA Cup final last season during that time.
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ARSENAL STARTING XI: Ospina; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Elneny, Xhaka, Wilshere, Ozil, Iwobi; Lacazette
CHELSEA STARTING XI: Caballero; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; Moses, Bakayoko, Kante, Alonso; Willian, Hazard, Pedro
Great to be at my new home๐๐ด Good luck to the team๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ @Arsenal #WeAreTheArsenal pic.twitter.com/fyilQjGeg1
— Henrikh Mkhitaryan (@HenrikhMkh) January 24, 2018
Pedro slides the ball through for Hazard, who breaks into the box before burying a confident finish into the bottom corner. That just looked far too easy for the visitors, who have dominated these opening exchanges.
Arsenal equalise within five minutes of going behind, although they need a huge stroke of luck to get it. It is partly poor defending from Chelsea as they leave Monreal in acres of space inside the box from a corner. The Spaniard plants a header towards goal, but that then comes off Alonso and then strikes the head of an unfortunate Rudiger before going over the line. The double deflection left Caballero helpless and will go down as a Rudier own goal, but the bottom line is that Arsenal are level!
248 - Ross Barkley has made his first competitive club appearance in 248 days, since playing against Arsenal at the Emirates with Everton on May 21st 2017. Mirror.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 24, 2018
Chelsea have enjoyed the lion's share of possession and territory and have been the better team quite comfortably so far tonight, but crucially it is still 1-1 on the night. As things stand, we are heading to extra time!
Pedro had the ball in the back of the net himself moments earlier only to be denied by the offside flag, but this time there was nothing to save the Gunners as Chelsea took an early lead.
It was a freak goal from the Gunners, but with a helping hand from some poor Chelsea defending too. Monreal escaped his marker in the box before planting a header goalwards which deflected off Alonso and then Rudiger on its way into the back of the net.
Xhaka has seen one free kick deflect narrowly over, before Ozil came agonisingly close right on the stroke of half time with another deflected shot which bobbled just past the far post. It is still all to play for in the second half.
Should the result remain as it is - or any score draw for that matter - then we would go to extra time, but Arsenal would then need to score again without reply to go through.
Xhaka feeds the ball down the right channel for Lacazette, who holds off his marker and bides his time before squeezing a cross into the box. Once again, there is a big element of fortune to the goal as the cross deflects into the path of Xhaka, who has continued his run into the area. Xhaka reacts quickly, though, poking the ball into the corner to send the Emirates Stadium wild!
It did not look good for the Gunners when they were punished for a dreadful start by Hazard after only seven minutes, but they responded quickly themselves to restore parity in fortuitous fashion five minutes later.
Granit Xhaka then got the winning goal on the hour mark, and Chelsea could not respond during a disappointing second-half display as Arsenal held out to set up a final showdown with Manchester City on February 25!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Arsenal book their place in the final of the EFL Cup at the expense of London rivals Chelsea, with Granit Xhaka scoring the all-important goal. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction from both camps too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!