Sheffield Wednesday booked their place in the quarter-finals of the League Cup by claiming a shock 3-0 win over Arsenal at Hillsborough.
The Gunners were dealt a blow early on, as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain headed off injured, with his replacement Theo Walcott also limping off the pitch.
Ross Wallace then fired the Owls into the lead, before Lucas Joao headed in a second five minutes before the break.
Early in the second half Sam Hutchinson slid in to convert from close range, as Wednesday cruised into the last-eight of the competition.
Find out how the action unfolded below.
Good evening everyone! The League Cup takes centre stage this week, as a number of teams look to book their spot in the quarter-finals. We have already seen a few shocks in the tournament this season, but can Sheffield Wednesday cause an upset tonight against an Arsenal side in sparkling form?
Looking well ahead of the big match! #swfc pic.twitter.com/c6GNidynTU
— Sheffield Wednesday (@swfc) October 27, 2015
It has been a wonderful October for the Gunners and they have won all four of their games this month. That includes a three-game winning run in the Premier League, which has seem them move level with Manchester City at the top, and an impressive victory over Bayern Munich in Europe.
Sheffield Wednesday have also been in good form and they stretched their unbeaten run to eight matches by beating Rotherham United last Friday. They are now up to ninth in the Championship, and talk of a return to the top flight has already begun.
With big league games coming up for both teams at the weekend, there has been talk of numerous changes being made by each manager. Well, the team news has filtered through, so let's take a look at who will be playing in this evening's cup tie.
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY XI: Wildsmith, Hunt, Loovens, Lees, Pudil, Wallace, Lee, Hutchinson, Bannan, Helan, Joao
ARSENAL XI: Cech, Debuchy, Chambers, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Flamini, Kamara, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Campbell, Iwobi, Giroud
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY SUBS: Price, Palmer, Semedo, Nuhiu, McGugan, Bus, Sasso
ARSENAL SUBS: Macey, Gabriel, Monreal, Bielik, Bennacer, Sheaf, Walcott
That's how the teams are looking this evening. As you can see, Arsenal have gone with Olivier Giroud up front, after the Frenchman's return to goalscoring form. Petr Cech starts in goal with David Ospina out injured, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Per Mertesacker and Mathieu Flamini are also involved.
Arsene Wenger has also handed debuts to Alex Iwobi and Glen Kamara, while there are plenty of other youngsters on the bench. The Gunners do have Theo Walcott to call upon if they need him, as well as Gabriel and Nacho Monreal. Meanwhile, Lucas Joao will lead the line for the hosts, but loan signing Gary Hooper is unavailable for tonight's tie.
So, Arsenal will be hoping to avoid a potential banana skin this evening and carry on their impressive run of form over the past month. They are on a four-game winning run, with the latest of those victories coming against Everton at the weekend.
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Olivier Giroud and Olivier Koscielny scored the goals that sealed a 2-1 triumph over the Toffees, although their tendency to push too many forward almost cost them in the closing stages. That result briefly lifted them to the top of the league, before Manchester City replaced them a day later by virtue of goal difference thanks to their point in the derby.
Prior to that, the Gunners had claimed one of the standout results of the season when they took on Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The German champions had won all nine of their Bundesliga matches and both of their European games, but a fine defensive display followed by late goals from Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil sealed a memorable win for Arsene Wenger's side.
It was a massive win as their European hopes had looked in disarray following losses to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos in their opening two games. That match against the Greeks was the last time they suffered a defeat, and they have certainly bounced back in style, with their stunning 3-0 win over Manchester United, that saw them score all of their goals inside the opening 20 minutes, coming just days later.
Tonight their focus will be back on progressing in the League Cup, and they began their campaign with a third-round tie against North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. It was an unlikely hero who inspired them to victory on that night, as Mathieu Flamini's double helped them to a 2-1 win at White Hart Lane.
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Looking to pull of a huge shock this evening are a Sheffield Wednesday side who are also in good run in recent weeks. As I have mentioned, they are on an eight-game unbeaten run and have closed to within four points of the playoff places in the Championship.
Of course it is far too early to be speaking about promotion, and manager Carlos Carvalhal has been quick to play down such talk. However, owner Dejphon Chansiri has said that he wants the team to return to the top flight by 2017, which would be a perfect way for them to celebrate their 150th anniversary.
If their third-round result is anything to go by, then they may very well be able to achieve their aspirations. They took on Newcastle United at St James' Park, and a late goal from Lewis McGugan was enough to secure them a 1-0 victory that has set up tonight's clash with the Gunners.
As Wednesday have not played in the Premier League for the past 15 years, it has been a long time since these two clubs last met. On that occasion at Highbury in 2000, the Owls raced into a 3-1 lead, before late strikes from Sylvinho and Thierry Henry confirmed their relegation from the top flight.
The Owls actually possess quite an impressive home record against the Gunners from their Premier League meetings, having won four of the last six games at Hillsborough. It is also a stadium that Arsene Wenger has yet to win at, and the Frenchman will surely be itching to put that record straight tonight.
Perhaps the most famous games between these clubs came in 1993, where they met each other in the final of both domestic cup competitions. In the League Cup final, an early goal from John Harkes gave the Owls the lead before, Paul Merson and Steve Morrow scored to secure a second win in the competition for the Gunners, and their last victory to date.
They met again at Wembley less than a month later in the FA Cup final, but nothing could separate the teams as they shared a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes of play. With no penalty shootouts in the cup back then, it meant a replay was required, and with just a minute of extra time left to play Andy Linighan headed in from a corner to win the cup for Arsenal.
KICKOFF! We are underway at Hillsborough!
This is not what Arsenal would have wanted inside the opening minutes. Oxlade-Chamberlain is down and receiving treatment, with Walcott is stripped off and ready to come on. The England midfielder had pulled up on the halfway line after a charge down the pitch and I'm afraid that's the end of his night.
SUB! Sadly Oxlade-Chamberlain heads off the pitch and down the tunnel, with Walcott coming on to take his place.
Due to the injury to Oxlade-Chamberlain, the match hasn't really been able to get going. We haven't seen either team fashion a chance or get their wingers in behind, and they are both giving the ball away rather cheaply at the moment.
Almost an early chance for Giroud, as the Frenchman breaks clear of the defence to latch onto a ball over the top and finds himself through on goal. However, the flag is quickly raised against him for an offside, although the replays show that Pudil was playing him on.
The Gunners are starting to take control now and Campbell skips past a couple of tackles, before finding Walcott just outside the box. The forward then tries to manoeuvre some space to get a shot away, but the Owls' defence hold firm and manage to scramble the ball away.
Walcott only came on five minutes into the match, but he looks in trouble here as he is sat on the turf with the physio taking a look at the back of his calf. It would be a major blow for him to be ruled out with an injury for the Gunners, especially given the form he has been in recently.
Having gone off the pitch to receive some extra treatment Walcott is back on, but he doesn't look happy. It appears as though he has signalled to the bench to come off and it means that Arsenal will have used up two of their substitutes in under 20 minutes.
SUB! Walcott will play no further part in the match and 17-year-old Frenchman Bennacer is on to take his place.
In terms of the football on the pitch, we have seen very little action in this first half and I can't recall a shot on goal from either side. Those two injuries have really impacted the play and the atmosphere is quite subdued inside the ground.
Campbell shows good strength by racing to the byline down the right and shrugging off his marker, before cutting back onto his left foot. He has time and space to pick a pass, but he gets far too much on his cross and fails to pick out anyone in the middle, with the ball going harmlessly out of play.
GOAL! Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Arsenal (Ross Wallace)
Out of absolutely nowhere Sheffield Wednesday take the lead with a fantastic team goal. Pudil races onto a fine ball down the left from Bannan, before looking up and spotting Wallace on the edge of the box. The Scot is then picked out with a low pass, and drills a first-time strike into the bottom corner that leaves Cech with no chance.
YELLOW CARD! Hutchinson picks up the first booking of the evening for the home side for a foul on Iwobi.
Campbell has the chance to test the keeper for Arsenal with a free kick from 25 yards, but he slams his effort straight into the wall. Moments later the hosts are up the other end of the pitch, where Flamini brings down Joao and gives them a set piece in a very promising position right outside the box.
CLOSE! Wallace takes the resulting free kick and curls his effort inches wide of the far post. Once again Cech was completely beaten, and there were plenty of supporters in the ground who thought that the ball had ended up in the back of the net.
Arsenal are really struggling at the moment and they are losing the ball cheaply in some dangerous areas. It is giving the hosts and their supporters plenty of encouragement and they will surely be looking to stamp home their advantage before the break.
SHOT! Iwobi shows his danger with a tricky run down the left wing before getting past his marker and cutting onto his right foot. He then gets to the edge of the box and crashes in a low drive, but it fails to test the keeper and instead goes just wide of the target.
GOAL! Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Arsenal (Lucas Joao)
What a sensational night this is turning out to be for the Owls as they take a two-goal lead just minutes before half time. Cech had just been forced to push behind a powerful low drive from Helan, but from the resulting corner the ball is played to Wallace, who then whips a cross back into the middle that is headed into the corner of the net by Joao.
Everything that could have gone wrong for the Gunners has in this first half and they look to be on the verge of an early exit from the cup. They have barely created a chance, and with only one substitute left, there is not much room for change from Wenger.
There are going to be four minutes of stoppage time added on before the break, due in part to those injuries to Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott.
Arsenal are on the attack and looking for a late goal to take into the dressing room, but the hosts are repelling everything that is coming their way. It has been a fine defensive display from the Owls in this first half and they have ensured that their opponents have not managed a single effort on target.
YELLOW CARD! Wallace is handed a booking for something that he has said to the referee following an earlier foul by Lee.
HALF-TIME: Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Arsenal
Hand up who saw that coming? A big upset is on the cards, as Sheffield Wednesday head into the break with a 2-0 lead over Arsenal. Ross Wallace set them on their way with a fine low strike, before Lucas Joao thumped in a header to double their advantage. With injuries to Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Theo Walcott, it is looking a long way back for Arsene Wenger's side.
HALF TIME: Fantastic from @swfc and at the break it's 2-0 #swfcLIVE pic.twitter.com/R5YzCrBOsr
— Sheffield Wednesday (@swfc) October 27, 2015
Let's take a glimpse of the statistics from the opening 45 minutes. Arsenal have seen plenty of the ball, and have dominated with 72% of the possession. However, they have managed four shots on goal, with just one finding the target, while the Owls have scored twice from their four attempts.
There's three other League Cup matches taking place this evening, but there have been no goals in any of those fixtures. If they all stay level, then they will be heading to extra time, but the chance of an additional 30 minutes look slim here for Arsenal at the moment.
RESTART! Arsenal take the kick off for the second half and get the match back underway.
The hosts have not been afraid to run at the Arsenal defence this evening, and after a burst through the middle, Lee is brought down a few yards outside the box by Mertesacker. It has given the Owls a free kick in a great position and it's Wallace who will take.
Instead of trying to find the net, Wallace curls the set piece into the box, but it is easily cleared by the Gunners. A few moments later he is picked out down the right and fashions another cross into the box, but once again the visitors hold firm.
GOAL! Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Arsenal (Sam Hutchinson)
Wednesday are in dreamland now as they score their third goal of the evening and pile further misery on the Gunners. The visitors give away another free kick, which Wallace plays towards the far post. Lees makes a great run to meet the ball, before firing a low delivery across the six-yard box that is turned in from close range by Hutchinson.
Hillsborough is in full voice now, and you can hardly blame the supporters from what they have seen from their team this evening. The Owls have taken full advantage of a weakened Arsenal line up and they look like scoring every time they come forward.
CLOSE! It's almost four as Joao rises highest inside the box to meet Bannan's dangerous cross from the left. He makes firm contact with the ball and it appears to be heading into the far corner, but it drops just inches the wrong side of the post.
Although things look bleak for the Gunners, they did come from four goals down to beat Reading 7-4 in an incredible League Cup tie three years ago. However, Walcott scored a hat-trick to inspire the Gunners that night, and they are unable to call upon him now.
YELLOW CARD! It's a first booking of the night for Arsenal, and Debuchy is shown a card for a lunging tackle from behind on Helan.
SUB! Arsenal make their third and final change of the evening, with Bielik coming on for Kamara. Loovens was also shown a card for the Owls as that change was made.
A lot of Wednesday's best moves have come down the left and they manage to work the ball neatly to Helan. He has Joao in the middle and tries to pick him out with a low cross, but the delivery is far too close to Cech who is off his line quickly to smother.
We haven't seen anything from Arsenal to suggest that they can get back into this match, and they need a goal quickly to have any chance. However, they haven't managed a shot since the break and Giroud has looked a stranded figure all evening.
Finally a promising moment in the attack for the Gunners as Debuchy is slid in down the right and whips a dangerous cross into the box from the byline. Giroud goes to attack the ball at the near post, but it is just slightly behind him and the ball drifts harmlessly out wide to the left.
SAVE! The Gunners are starting to pile on the pressure now and another good run from Debuchy ends with his cross going out for a corner. The resulting set piece eventually finds its way to Mertesacker at the back post, but his close-range header is tipped over the bar by a strong save from Wildsmith.
Arsenal are having plenty of joy down the right at the moment and this time Campbell tricks his way into space. The Costa Rican then whips a deep cross into the box that is attacked by Gibbs at the back post, but the Wednesday defence hold firm and see off the threat once again.
SUB! The Owls make their first change of the match with 15 minutes remaining as Bannan heads off to be replaced by Semedo.
We've just had a short stoppage in play while Hutchinson receives some treatment for a knock. I don't think that he has a serious problem, but with his side already on their way to the win there is no point in risking him.
SUB! Hutchinson's night has come to an end, and he is being replaced by McGugan, who scored the winning goal against Newcastle in the third round.
The Owls have done well to take the sting out of this match, when Arsenal started to put them under some pressure. They managed to survive that spell without leaking a goal, and now a place in the quarter-final of the cup is just moments away from being confirmed.
SUB! Joao receives a big round of applause from the home fans as he comes off to be replaced by Nuhiu.
YELLOW CARD! Campbell is shown a card for the Gunners with just four minutes left to play for a late challenge on Pudil.
Very nearly a late chance for the Gunners to get on the scoresheet as Iwobi pinches the ball just outside the box. He then tries to slide Giroud into the box, but overhits the ball slightly and allows Lees to come across and make a fine sliding tackle to cut out the attack.
There are going to be at least three minutes of stoppage time.
Lees has been a rock at the back for the hosts this evening and he ensures that there is no consolation for Arsenal with a superb last-ditch tackle as Iwobi drove into the box.
CHANCE! Again the Gunners are denied a late goal as Campbell is found at the back post following a corner. The ball lands perfectly to him and he crashes in a low volley, but his effort skids a few inches wide of the far post.
FULL-TIME: Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Arsenal
What a night it has been for Sheffield Wednesday who are into the quarter-finals of the League Cup thanks to a stunning win over Arsenal. Goals from Ross Wallace, Lucas Joao and Sam Hutchinson were enough to see off the Gunners, who will immediately turn their attentions to Premier League action and a trip to Swansea at the weekend.
That just about wraps it up for our coverage from Hillsborough this evening. However, it has gone into extra time in the other three League Cup ties, and we've got live action from the games involving Chelsea and Everton. We've also got tomorrow's fourth-round fixtures covered so make sure you're here for that. Goodbye!
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Written by
Alex Meyers
Alex Meyers
