Even Arsenal's most optimistic fans might have been bracing
themselves for defeat on Tuesday night - but Arsène Wenger
wasn't.
The young Gunners, with an average age of 20, squandered a two-goal
lead against Blackburn and looked to be heading for the Carling Cup
exit after losing Denilson to a red card and Nacer Barazite to a
dislocated shoulder.
Instead, Arsenal dug deeper than ever to snatch a thrilling 3-2
victory in extra time, courtesy of Eduardo's clinical finish. A
third successive Semi-Final awaits them in the New Year.
So was Wenger surprised by his team's incredible show of character?
Not at all. "I believe very strongly in this team and I am not
surprised," said the Frenchman afterwards.
"I am very happy because today it was more the physical and the
mental test during a big part of the game and they stood up to it.
After we were down to 10 men it was a mental test and we found the
resources to score the goal and win the tie.
"Now we want to finish the job. We got a taste of the Final last
year and now we are in the Semi-Final again so that shows that it
was not a coincidence last year.
"We will have two big games now and it will cost a lot of energy.
We will see who we get. Last year we got Tottenham and it won't be
a surprise if we get them again."