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A fumble from Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici in extra time handed Arsenal a 2-1 victory and a place in the FA Cup final.
The Royals keeper, who had made some fine saves earlier in the match, allowed Alexis Sanchez's low shot to squirm between his legs and over the line on 115 minutes, which was enough to see the Gunners return to Wembley on May 30 to try to defend the trophy.
Sanchez had swept the Gunners into the lead on 39 minutes.
However, Reading were level when Garath McCleary's volley was deflected past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who could only palm the ball back over the line.
Arsenal twice hit the woodwork through a header from defender Gabriel and a close-range shot by Aaron Ramsey, but could not find a winner in normal time.
So how did the players perform? Click on the gallery below to find out.
Show all 25 1 /25Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Reading: Adam Federici - 6/10 Two early saves in the first 10 minutes kept his side in it and then went from there - with his top corner stop from Gabriel's header the pick of the bunch. But then let himself down dreadfully by letting Sanchez's shot creep through him.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Chris Gunter - 6 Kept Sanchez relatively quiet in the first 45 minutes - no easy thing. Linked up well with McLeary down the right side for Reading.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Jordan Obita - 6 Had a decent effort during the first half only to hit it straight at Szczesny. Tried to get forward.
Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Alex Pearce - 5 Strong alongside Hector if less involved.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Michael Hector - 6 Was a solid presence at the back, putting in some impressive tackles, if some heavy ones too. Had Ramsey gone down late on under his pressure would probably have been punished with a penalty.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Daniel Williams - 6 An energentic performance that sometimes saw him make some silly tackles. Sliced the ball on the volley when should have found the target.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Nathaniel Chalobah - 7 A real wall in midfield while at the same time starting moves going forward. Always on the edge, fouling Welbeck in a dangerous position and eventually being booked for taking out Gibbs.
Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Garath McCleary - 7 A menace down the right hand side throughout, although his delivery was not always up to standard. Did well to get his equaliser on target, but lucky to see it go in.
Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Hal Robson-Kanu - 6 Delivery wasn't always up to standard but showed endevour.
Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Pavel Pogrebnyak - 5 Twice found himself with the ball at his feet in a two-on-one situation. Both times failed to make anything of it. Assisted Reading's equaliser after showing strength to get to the byline before finding McCleary.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Jamie Mackie - 6 Hounded the Arsenal defence but was caught offside too often.
Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Arsenal: Wojciech Szczesny - 3 Terrible keeping for McCleary goal, rolling back into his own net and letting the ball come with him. Never looked convincing.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Mathieu Debuchy - 5 Dispossessed just before Reading's equaliser. Robson-Kanu got the better of him in the second period.
Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Per Mersesacker - 6 Was solid at the back, using his height to make some useful clearances. Replaced by Paulista.
Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Laurent Koscielny - 7 Made some important tackles and generally kept Reading's powerful strike force at bay. Did well to confuse Pogrbnyak when the Russian should have created a chance for himself or a team-mate.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Kieran Gibbs - 5 Was caught in possession on occassion and failed to get forward as much as he would have liked.
Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Francis Coquelin - 5 A mixed performance that saw some useful tackles and interceptions made but also saw the odd loose pass and failed challenge.
Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Aaron Ramsey - 6 Busy in midfield but not everything came off. Hit the outside of post when he should have scored and then saw another, admittedly more difficult chance, go begging.
Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Alexis Sanchez - 7 Took the opening goal brilliantly, showing composure to hold the ball before firing in. His second was more fortunate, owed more to a mistake by Federici than the quality of his shot. Busy performance.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Mesut Özil - 8 Pulled the strings in midfield and was rewarded when he set up the first goal with a cute pass into the box. Faded a little as it went on.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Santi Cazorla - 7 Not the best afternoon from the Spaniard who shots from outside the box weren't up to standard. Failed to find any killer passes either.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Danny Welbeck - 5 Doesn't offer the same springboard as Giroud and it was little surprise to see him replaced by the Frenchman when Arsenal needed another goal.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Gabriel Paulista - 4 Struggled to get up to pace after replacing Mertesacker, but should have scored. Saw one header brilliantly saved and another go over. Booked.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Theo Walcott - 5 Zippy performance after coming on late. Held the ball well and helped calm some nerves.
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Reading 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings Olivier Giroud - 6 Was strong and held the ball up well when the Gunners needed to run down the clock.
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Additional report by PA.
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