Eddie rescues Gunners in extra-time

Arsene Wenger had made eleven changes from his side’s Premier League victory over Everton on the weekend, but just two changes to the team that had beaten Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League last Thursday. The Gunners were looking to make it three consecutive wins in all competitions, while Norwich were unbeaten in nine.

It was a quiet start to the game with Arsenal dominating possession, as expected, and Jack Wilshere spreading the ball in midfield, but neither side could create any clear openings in the opening stages.

The first time either goalkeeper was called into action was on the 20 minute mark. A corner from Theo Walcott was met by Rob Holding five yards out, but Angus Gunn reacted superbly to tip the defender’s header over and keep the scores level.

Arsene Wenger’s side continued to dominate possession, but there were no more clear-cut chances until Norwich took a shock lead after 34 minutes.

James Maddison sent a ball through the centre of an Arsenal defence which parted with ease, and Josh Murphy raced goalwards, before delicately chipping the ball over the onrushing Matt Macey, who was making his Gunners debut.

The Canaries then almost raced into a two-goal lead just four minutes later. Murphy picked out Nelson Oliveira inside the box, and the striker cut onto his right foot before curling the ball towards the bottom corner, but Macey managed to keep the ball out at full stretch to avoid further embarrassment.

The hosts were in search of an equaliser for the rest of the half, and Francis Coquelin’s effort from 25 yards out sailed harmlessly wide.

Theo Walcott came close to levelling the scores when he forced Gunn into a decent save from a low effort from inside the area, but the sides went in at the break with a shock result on the cards.

In the second period Arsenal continued to dominate possession and whilst they increased pressure on the Norwich defence, a lack of final ball meant that the best chances actually fell to the visitors.

Mario Vrancic flicked the ball over the Arsenal defence to Murphy, who tried to lift the ball over the stranded Macey, but his effort just cleared the bar.

With 15 minutes to go, Daniel Farke’s men had their best chance to put the game to bed. Oliveira found Vrancic in space, and he cut onto his left foot leaving two Arsenal defenders for dead, but his low effort was just wide of the near post.

Those missed opportunities came back to bite the Championship side with five minutes of normal time remaining. Theo Walcott swung in a corner for the home side and Edward Nketiah, who had only been on the pitch for 30 seconds, was in the right place to stab home from close range to bring the scores level.

Arsenal then came agonisingly close to winning the game in the final moments but Gunn saved brilliantly from point-blank range as Wilshere tried to poke the ball past him.

Extra-time carried on where normal time left off and Arsenal were on top.

Norwich failed to clear their lines and the ball fell to Theo Walcott inside the box but his low shot across the goal was kept out brilliantly by Gunn once again.

From the resulting corner, Coquelin crossed in from the left and Nketiah rose highest to head home emphatically to score his second of the game and give Arsenal the lead, six minutes into extra-time.

The Gunners continued to dominate the rest of the extra-time period and Gunn remained tall to make a good save from a decent first-time effort by Giroud.

Norwich were pushing for the equaliser but were struggling to break down the Arsenal defence. Just before the break, Oliveira created some space for himself after he cut onto his right foot inside the box, but he fired his shot well over the bar.

In the final 15 minutes, Nketiah was searching for his dream hat-trick and he showed an excellent burst of pace by meeting his own knock-on past the Norwich defence, before releasing the shot, but Gunn kept his low effort out.

Norwich then had a strong claim for a penalty when James Husband appeared to be dragged down by Mathieu Debuchy inside the box, but Daniel Farke and his players were left furious after the referee waved away any claims.

Nketiah’s cameo performance from the bench gained plenty of recognition from the home fans as they chanted his name in the stands, and he showed supreme confidence as he carried the ball towards the Norwich box and curled an effort inches wide of the far post in the final moments.

Arsenal held on to book their place in the quarter finals of the EFL Cup and maintain their record of never having lost to a lower league club in EFL Cup history.