Arsenal - Liverpool

Gutted. That is the only word to describe how the Gunners must be feeling after suffering defeat at Anfield in the cruelest fashion. A riveting game that saw momentum change sides numerous times, the final shift looked to have occurred seven minutes from time, when Arsenal super-sub (I think it's safe to call him that) Theo Walcott bolted on an end-to-end run unlike any I've seen all year, and set up the game-tying, quarterfinal clinching goal for Emmanuel Adebayor. The beautiful bit of brilliance that made the game 2-2 and 3-3 on aggregate, with Arsenal poised to advance on away goals, seemingly came out of nowhere, and had the Anfield crowd stunned in shocked silence.... for all of 50 seconds. Because no sooner had Arsenal trotted back to their side of the pitch had Liverpool advanced the ball forward and found Ryan Babel in space, bringing teh ball wrecklessly and desperately into the area when, inexplicably, Kolo Toure put an outstretched arm to Babel, and the ref took the subsequent bait when Babel went down in the box, awarding Liverpool a penalty. Arsenal were done and dusted even before Steven Gerrard punched home the decisive penalty, and I can only imagine the swings of emotion that occurred for both sides in those sudden moments near the end of the game.

Of course it shouldn't have been a penalty, especially when you consider the penalty that wasn't awarded on Alexander Hleb in the first leg in London. But still, what was Toure grabbing at Babel when Gallas was waiting calmly to eschew the threat. And how did Arsenal even allow Babel to advance into such a position so quickly after kicking off? Had even one minute elapsed after the Adebayor equalizer, Liverpool would certainly have succumbed to the pressure that would have hovered over the Anfield pitch like a silent storm in the final minutes. But Arsenal's defense, suspect all season, unfathomably allowed Liverpool to counterstrike immediately. And now Liverpool, soldiers of fortune, soldier on to the semifinal, where undoubtedly more breaks and luck await them.