10 of the best ever Arsenal comeback wins

Reading 5-7 Arsenal – October 30, 2012

One of my biggest personal Arsenal regrets was this match. I was in London and planned on taking the train to Reading and the Madejski Stadium to attend the League Cup fourth-round contest. Unfortunately, I got lazy and decided to give it a miss. It was definitely a big mistake as this was a crazy and historic game.

As is often the case in the League Cup, Wenger gave starts to some of his fringe players including Carl Jenkinson, Johan Djourou, Emmanuel Frimpong, and Ignasi Miquel.

Reading got off to a fast start when Andrei Arshavin’s poor pass led to a Jason Roberts goal in the 12th minute. Six minutes later the Royals had two as Laurent Koscielny found himself under pressure and scored an own goal.

Two minutes later the Gunners were down by three when Mikele Leigertwood scored from a cleared corner. With eight minutes remaining in the first half, the misery for the Gunners continued. Noel Hunt nodded home a cross to make it 4-0 to Reading.

Arsenal saved a bit of face and kept hope alive when Theo Walcott scored in first-half stoppage time.

The second half was all Arsenal. Olivier Giroud scored from a corner in the 64th minute, and then with just minutes remaining the Gunners turned the game on its head. Koscielny scored in the 89th minute and Walcott struck again in the sixth minute of stoppage time to send the match into extra time.

None other than Moroccon Marouane Chamakh gave Arsenal its first lead of the match, scoring in the 103rd minute. The Gunners appeared to be on the ascendancy, but Reading still had a bit of fight left in them.

Reading substitute, Pavel Pogrebnyak, sent the ball past Emiliano Martinez with just five minutes remaining. The score was tied once again.

It appeared that the match would have to be decided on penalties as the game headed to two minutes of stoppage time. Instead, Walcott scored his second of the day to give Arsenal the lead. Then with seconds remaining on the clock Chamakh made sure the comeback was complete with his second goal of the day, a delightful chip from distance.

When I decided not to travel to Reading, I instead listened to this match on the radio. When Arsenal was down by four at the half, I felt as if I had made a good choice. 45 minutes later, I was kicking myself and regretting my decision to skip the trip to Reading. What a game.

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