Reading 5–7 Arsenal (2012)

This game marked the tenth occasion that Reading and Arsenal had played each other, with the Gunners favourites to win the tie. They had won all ten previous meetings with "The Royals"; their most recent meeting had come in the Premier League in April 2008, which the Gunners won 2–0. Meanwhile, Reading, newly promoted after winning the Championship the previous season, had struggled to get to grips with the English top-flight. A 1–1 home draw with Stoke City on the opening day was followed by four defeats in the next seven matches, which left them 19th; however, the Royals had a game in hand, after their away game against Sunderland was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. However, a pair of 3-2 wins, first at home to Peterborough United, and then at Queens Park Rangers in the League Cup had set up the tie with Arsenal, who had thrashed Coventry City 6–1 at the Emirates Stadium in the third round. They would meet a further three times before the turn of the century-all in domestic cup ties-and it was not until the 2006–07 Premier League season that the two sides would meet in league competition. Arsenal won both games, 4–0 at the Madejski and 2–1 at Highbury. Arsenal had up to that point scored 21 times against Reading; the Royals had, on the other hand, scored just four times in the fixture. ==Pre-match==

At the Arsenal Annual General Meeting, manager Arsène Wenger had made it clear that the League Cup was fifth on his list of priorities; the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and top four all were more important, according to Wenger. This statement had come after poor displays against Norwich City and Schalke 04; McDermott had named a near full-strength team in the 3–2 third round win at QPR, but still made six changes to the side that drew 3–3 with Fulham in the Premier League, including swapping goalkeeper Alex McCarthy with Adam Federici. A deep-lying 4–4–2 was selected by McDermott, with Jason Roberts and Noel Hunt being paired up front. Captain Kaspars Gorkss retained his place. Arsenal meanwhile made eleven changes as Arsène Wenger rested numerous first-team players following their hard-fought home win over QPR; a 4–5–1 formation was favoured by the Frenchman, with Andrey Arshavin and Theo Walcott to shift from midfield in support of Marouane Chamakh, with Johan Djourou captaining the side. ==Match==

Overview Arsenal kicked off the match in their classic red shirts with white sleeves; Reading in their home strip of blue and white hoops. Reading started the match on the front foot, hitting the post in the 3rd minute through Sean Morrison, before a Jay Tabb shot was blocked in the 9th minute. But three minutes later, Reading had their goal. Andrey Arshavin gave the ball away and the home side quickly countered, with Jason Roberts firing in Hal Robson-Kanu`s cross to give Reading a "deserved" advantage. Two minutes of added time were awarded; in the last of those, a neat through-ball from Andrey Arshavin found Walcott in acres of space, and the Englishman's dinked finish made it 4–1 at half-time. The second half started with penalty calls from both sides, with Chamakh being booked for complaining about the latter one, and a post being struck by Walcott. Despite there being chances at both ends, it was Arsenal who struck first in the second half, Olivier Giroud steering a header into the far corner after a well-taken Walcott corner. Extra-time started with early chances for substitute Thomas Eisfeld and Arshavin, neither of whom converted. Half-time was drawing near when neat play on the left-hand side saw Arshavin lay the ball off to Chamakh, who scored his first goal in over a year to make it 5–4 to Arsenal. However, the scoring was not done yet. With five minutes to go, a cross from Robson-Kanu evaded the Arsenal defenders and came to Gunter, whose deflected cross was nodded in by Pavel Pogrebnyak to make it 5–5. Reading now had the initiative, but had just two minutes of stoppage time. However, it was Arsenal who grabbed the crucial sixth goal after Arshavin-released down the left-saw his run and driving shot blocked by Federici before Walcott slammed it in to make it 6–5. But the scoring still was not done. After a final Reading attack, Walcott cleared the ball away only for Gunter to miss his header and give Chamakh a one-on-one with Federici, and his calm lobbed finish saw Arsenal make it 7–5. It proved to be the last act of the game, as Arsenal qualified for the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup for a tenth consecutive season. Details ==Post-match and reaction==

This match is widely regarded as one of the most remarkable of modern times. It is also thought to be one of the finest comebacks in football history; it was the first time Arsenal had ever come back from a 3+ goal deficit to win. The result did not, as hoped, have an immediate effect on what had been an inconsistent start to the season for Arsenal; in the next match, they were defeated by eventual Premier League champions Manchester United 2–1 at Old Trafford. This sparked a run of just three wins in nine matches, before a three-match winning run culminated in another record-breaking match, Walcott netting another hat-trick in a 7–3 home win over Newcastle United, but at the turn of the year had failed to win over half of their league matches; however just five defeats after New Years Day saw them overhaul Tottenham Hotspur and finish fourth in the league. However, their League Cup campaign ended with a bitterly disappointing 3-2 penalty shootout defeat to fourth-division Bradford City in the next round. Reading meanwhile continued their poor form, not winning a league game until November and just two before New Years, and just four more afterwards as they ultimately finished 19th, some 11 points off of safety. They and Arsenal met twice more before the seasons end; the Gunners triumphed on both occasions, 5–2 at the Madejski in December, and 4–1 at the Emirates in March. They have since faced each other twice more, in the FA Cup semi-final, and in the League Cup in 2016–17. Arsenal won on both occasions, extending their perfect record against the Royals to 14 matches. Records There were several records set in this match, including the following: • Highest-scoring League Cup match of all time(now joint). • Joint highest-scoring match in Arsenal history. • First time Arsenal had ever come from 3+ goals down to win a match. • Joint-most goals scored by Arsenal in an away match(7). • Most goals scored in extra-time in an Arsenal match. ==See also==