CITY SURVIVE TRICKY SPOT
Quadruple bid still on after penalty shoot-out drama
CLAUDIO BRAVO was the hero once again last night as Manchester City survived a scare to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals by beating Leicester on penalties.
Bravo, who saved two spot-kicks during the victory over Wolves in October, stopped Riyad Mahrez’s fifth spot-kick, after Jamie Vardy had put Leicester’s fourth wide of the post.
It was Vardy who had forced extra-time at the King Power Stadium, as the Foxes – who had rested a number of key players – scored a controversial equaliser in the seventh minute of injury-time, the striker converting a spot-kick after Demarai Gray fell under the challenge of Kyle Walker.
Arsenal joined City in the last four as Danny Welbeck’s first goal in three months – and his first in the competition since 2009 – saw off West Ham at the Emirates last night.
DANNY WELBECK came out of the shadows to score the goal that sent Arsenal into the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
The former Manchester United striker had not started a Premier League game for Arsenal in more than two months and had not scored a goal in three.
But it was the 27 year old who pounced on hesitation in the West Ham defence just before half-time at the Emirates last night to score from close range and put Arsenal into the last four.
It was a deserved win for the Gunners, who dominated a game against a West Ham side who barely threatened in attack and could not reproduce the recent dramatic improvement in their Premier League form, despite fielding a strong line-up.
David Moyes’ team went down to their first defeat in four matches under the Scot, but for Arsene Wenger it was a result that eased some of the anger that has been growing around the Emirates at inconsistent Premier League performances in the opening months of the season.
Moyes made six changes from the side that made it three games unbeaten on Saturday with an emphatic 3-0 win at Stoke, but it was still a strong line-up, with England No1 Joe Hart returning in goal and Javier Hernandez starting up front.
For Arsenal, Theo Walcott made only his eighth start of the season – none of them in the Premier League – against the club that have been linked with a loan move for him in January. The 28 year old captained the Arsenal side with Olivier Giroud leading the line.
Oddly, Wenger has never won the League Cup – the only domestic trophy missing from his collection – but then he has always treated it as an opportunity to give his youngsters a chance of firstteam football.
Moyes has made West Ham more organised and disciplined in his four weeks in charge and they needed those qualities as Arsenal put them under early pressure.
The priority for the Scot has been to steer his side away from the bottom of the table, which he has begun to do. But the relative strength of the side he put out at the Emirates indicated that an attempt to win this competition was not being dismissed either.
His side were content to sit deep, often with five men strung across the back, and try to hit the Gunners on the break. It made for tedious fare, with Arsenal unable to break them down.
Sead Kolasinac provided a rare moment of light, when he cut in from the left and fired a drive over Hart’s crossbar from the edge of the area.
It seemed to spark the Gunners into life, as once again the Bosnian burst down the left and this time found Walcott totally unmarked in the middle but the former England striker somehow headed wide of a gaping net from 10 yards.
And then came the breakthrough. Francis Coquelin moved the ball over to the far post, where Mathieu Debuchy nodded into the centre. James Collins missed the ball and Winston Reid was way too slow, as Welbeck raced in front of him to fasten on to it and score from pointblank range, with Hart helpless.
It was a terrible goal from West Ham’s point of view.
The strike though, however scrambled, was only Welbeck’s fourth of the season for Arsenal, so he will not have minded how it came.
Arsenal now looked to be well in control of the game, with West Ham having little punch up front.
But then Arthur Masuaku made a surging run forward and was brought down by Debuchy – and Aaron Cresswell’s free-kick fizzed wide of the far post – West Ham’s first shot at goal.
Moyes reacted by bringing on Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho to bolster a nonexistent attack.
That at least gave the frozen Hammers fans something to cheer. And suddenly there was more urgency to the game.
As Arsenal broke, Hart galloped out of his goal and clumsily brought down Welbeck right on the edge of the penalty area. The England goalkeeper was riding his luck.
ARSENAL (4-3-3): Ospina; Debuchy, Holding, Chambers, Kolasinac; Elneny, Coquelin (Da Silva 90), Willock (Sheaf 84); Walcott, Giroud (Nelson 78), Welbeck. Goal: Welbeck 42. WEST HAM (3-5-2): Hart; Reid, Collins, Ogbonna; Cresswell (Carroll 65), Rice, Obiang, Quina (Arnautovic 83), Masuaku; Ayew, Hernandez (Sakho 65). Booked: Hart. Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicester).