Gunners book Chelsea date
Arsenal set up a heavyweight Carling Cup final clash with Chelsea
but needed extra-time to see off Spurs.
Mido's late equaliser which cancelled out Emmanuel Adebayor's
opener sent the tie into an extra half-an-hour but Jeremie
Aliadiere's strike followed by a Pascal Chimbonda own goal put the
result beyond doubt.
In spite of Spurs' endeavours, it was hard to deny the Gunners
youngsters deserved their place in Cardiff after dominating both
games for long periods.
But it took the introduction of Czech playmaker Tomas Rosicky to
provide the vital ingredient to see off the visitors'
challenge.
England winger Aaron Lennon was left on the bench for Tottenham due
to illness with Martin Jol opting for Steed Malbranque and Hossam
Ghaly on the flanks.
But midway through the first half it became apparent confusion over
the original teamsheet meant Lennon could not play any part,
leaving Spurs with just four substitutes.
Jol started with Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe in attack, with
Egypt striker Mido on the bench.
Keane had a great opportunity after 10 minutes. The Irish
international broke the Arsenal offside trap and latched onto
Michael Dawson's long through ball but Almunia was off his line
quickly to smother
Three minutes later, Kolo Toure missed a golden chance to put the
hosts ahead. Denilson's shot was fumbled by Paul Robinson into the
path of the onrushing Toure but his instinctive prod went wide of
the upright.
Adebayor and Jeremie Aliadiere both missed the target when well
placed as Arsenal looked to gain the upper hand.
At the other end, Malbranque met Ghaly's cross with a firm header
that skipped off the turf but narrowly wide of Almunia's right-hand
post.
There was an early flashpoint as the second half got underway.
Ghaly and Abou Diaby went down in a heap in the penalty area and
scuffled as they got to their feet. A number of players ran in to
intervene before referee Alan Whiley pulled out yellow cards for
both the Spurs winger and the Gunners midfielder.
As the game continued, Walcott appeared the hosts' best outlet but
time and again the teenager failed to take the right option when
well placed.
And with 62 minutes gone, the 17-year-old was replaced by Rosicky
with Arsene Wenger looking for a bit more quality in the final
third.
Before Walcott had left the pitch, the Gunners were forced into
another change when defender Armand Traore went down injured, Gael
Clichy taking his place at left-back.
The addition of the Czech international and the French youngster
gave Wenger's men fresh impetus. Denilson, a threat throughout, cut
in from the left and fired a shot into the side-netting while
Rosicky created mayhem on the opposite flank, forcing Chimbonda to
bring him down at the expense of a yellow card.
It was no surprise that Rosicky was involved in the opening goal.
His powerful shot was parried by Robinson but the Spurs defence
failed to clear their lines. The ball broke again for the Czech
midfielder who played in Adebayor to slot past the visting keeper
with ease.
As Adebayor celebrated with Thierry Henry, who was not even in the
squad for the game, Arsenal brought on Cesc Fabregas to try and
seal the tie. The visitors responded and replaced Malbranque and
Ghaly with Mido and Tom Huddlestone.
And just as Rosicky's introduction had an immediate impact, so did
the appearance of the Egyptian target man. Denilson commited a foul
out on the left and Mido rose to nod home Jermaine Jenas' perfect
free-kick.
Mido almost sent Spurs to the final in injury time but his left
foot shot curled agonisingly wide of Almunia's right-hand
post.
Deep into added time, Denilson nearly sent Arsenal to Cardiff only
to be denied by Robinson who also reacted quickly to parry Toure's
effort.
With Spurs needing to score in extra-time to have any chance of
progressing to the final, the first period saw the hosts continue
to dominate possession.
And right at the end of the first 15 minutes, Spurs substitute
Ricardo Rocha made a hash of an attempted clearance, allowing
Aliadiere to fire into the roof of the net to send the Gunners to
Cardiff.
The inspirational Rosicky put the tie beyond doubt with eight
minutes of added time remaining, weaving his magic in the Spurs
penalty area before firing against a post only to see the rebound
deflect off Chimbonda and just over the line.