Granit puts Arsenal into League Cup final

Arsenal fought back from a goal down against old foe Chelsea to reach the League Cup final as Granit Xhaka poked home to complete a 2-1 second-leg win Wednesday that set up a Wembley showdown with Manchester City. Nothing separated the sides after the semi-final's first leg at Stamford Bridge ended goalless two weeks ago, but the stalemate was swiftly broken as Chelsea took the lead through Eden Hazard after seven minutes at Emirates Stadium. Yet question mark about Arsenal's steel in the face of adversity were swept away as they levelled five minutes later through a fortuitous Antonio Rudiger own goal before they turned the match on its head. Midfielder Granit turned predator 15 minutes after halftime to finish from close range and Arsenal stayed rock-solid at the back for the rest of the game to set up an enticing final against Premier League leader City on Feb. 25.

Arsenal to make their 10th Wembley appearance in less than four years. They've won the last nine

— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) January 24, 2018

The sides were meeting for the fifth time this season and it was clear that familiarity had bred a certain degree of contempt as the tackles flew in during a fiercely contested opening. Arsenal had lost only one of their previous seven games against Chelsea, but were quickly under the cosh as Hazard put the visitor ahead, calmly stroking the ball past David Ospina after Chelsea carved open the host's backline. The Emirates was subdued as Chelsea bossed the ball but a fortuitous leveller after 12 minutes brought the home crowd back to life and sparked Arsenal's revival. A deep corner was met by Nacho Monreal whose header cannoned off the head of Marcos Alonso before ricocheting of Rudiger to leave Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero stranded.

Nacho Monreal – MOM Touches 91 (most in match) Passing Accuracy: 91% Interceptions: 4 (most for Arsenal) Attempts: 2 Helps Arsenal reach a 5th major Cup Final in last 7 years Arsenal meet Man City in a major Cup Final for 1st time pic.twitter.com/LvZ1HpZ3ae

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) January 24, 2018

Chelsea were hit with an injury blow when Willian was forced off with what looked like a hamstring problem after 29 minutes and his departure handed a debut off the bench to Ross Barkley. That seemed to shift momentum in Arsenal's favour as the host finished the first half on the front foot, with Mesut Ozil seeing an effort deflected just wide, before they grabbed the lead shortly after the break. Lacazette's pull back was deflected off Rudiger into the path of Granit, who stuck out a leg and poked the ball past Caballero from close range. From that moment on Chelsea barely created a chance as Arsenal stayed resolute at the back and sharp on the counter, with the best opening falling to Alex Iwobi whose effort from 15 metres was saved by the legs of Caballero.