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Arsenal enjoy Cup revenge

Only eight days earlier Arsenal, who now face Everton, were beaten 5-1 by Liverpool at Anfield.

But Arsene Wenger’s men — who haven’t won a major trophy since lifting the FA Cup in 2005 — turned the table at the Emirates Stadium. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave the Gunners a 16th minute lead when he followed up after Steven Gerrard blocked Yaya Sanogo’s initial shot.

Oxlade-Chamberlain turned provider in the 47th minute, outpacing Daniel Agger before a pull-back for Lukas Podoslki allowed the Germany star to fire them into a 2-0 lead. But Liverpool captain Gerrard ensured a nervous finish for the London club when he scored from the penalty spot in the 59th minute after Podolski fouled Luis Suarez.

And Liverpool felt they should have had a second spot-kick moments later when Oxlade-Chamberlain appeared to foul Suarez.

But Howard Webb, the 2010 World Cup final referee, dismissed their appeals. “The intensity of the performance pleased me, I am very proud of the way we responded to the huge defeat that we had (at Anfield) last week,” Arsenal manager Wenger.

But Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers bemoaned the lack of a “blatant penalty”, after Arsenal denied his side a Merseyside derby quarter-final with Everton. “I thought the best team lost,” he told BT Sport. “I thought the very least we deserved was a replay.