Saliba says Arsenal must learn from previous EFL Cup semi-final shortcomings

William Saliba stressed the need for Arsenal to learn from their defeat in last season's EFL Cup semi-finals after they sealed a return to the competition's last four on Tuesday.

The Gunners beat Crystal Palace 8-7 in a high-quality penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium, teeing up a two-legged tie against Chelsea. 

Maxence Lacroix's own goal put Arsenal 1-0 up in the 80th minute, before a poacher's finish from Marc Guehi forced spot-kicks. Each team converted their first seven attempts, before Kepa Arrizabalaga got down to his right to parry Lacroix's effort.

Arsenal have now reached the semi-finals of the EFL Cup three times in five seasons, though they have come up short on their previous two appearances in the last four under Mikel Arteta.

Having lost 2-0 on aggregate to eventual champions Liverpool in 2021-22, Arsenal were also eliminated by the eventual winners last campaign, losing 2-0 both home and away to Newcastle United.

Speaking after Tuesday's game, Saliba – who was caught ball-watching for Palace's equaliser – said Arsenal must show a dramatic improvement compared to their last semi-final appearance.

"It was a tough game against a top team. We did well. Apart from my mistake, we played well," Saliba told Sky Sports. "At the end, Kepa saved us.

"We are so happy to be in the semi-finals. You have to learn the lessons from last season because we got to the semi-finals and lost both games. 

"This time, we want to win both games and go to the final."

Arsenal also defeated Palace at the quarter-final stage of the 2024-25 EFL Cup, and they have now won their last three ties at this stage of the competition.

This is the first time they have won back-to-back EFL Cup ties against fellow Premier League teams since 2010-11, meanwhile, having defeated Brighton 2-0 in the fourth round.

Kepa was largely untroubled in the 90 minutes, not having to make a single save, while his opposite number Walter Benitez made seven for Palace.

But he kept his concentration to decide the shoot-out, then said Arsenal had plenty of room for improvement.

"I think we played so well and then they changed things, they adapted a little bit," the Spaniard said.

"It's something we have to improve on – we have been conceding goals in the last minutes. You have to keep your cool and not lose your focus."

Arsenal return to Premier League action against Brighton on Saturday, with fellow title challengers Aston Villa then visiting the Emirates three days later.