Justice for Cudicini in Blues rhapsody

Arsenal 2 Chelsea

Arsenal's manager, Arsène Wenger, who said before yesterday's game that he did not believe in history, still has the chance to make some with a back-to-back League and FA Cup Double, but he will need an ill-timed replay at Stamford Bridge to continue the chase.

Frank Lampard's late equaliser in a rousing tie necessitated a second repeat of last season's final. It will take place on Tuesday, 25 March, two days before England fly to Liechtenstein for their next Euro 2004 game.

Lampard will hope to be on board the plane, however weary, like his team-mate John Terry, who had headed Chelsea into the lead early on. Carlo Cudicini then saved a dubious penalty, taken by Thierry Henry, before Patrick Vieira dragged the holders back into the game and to the brink of victory.

In the end Chelsea just about deserved a second chance after a tie that only Sven Goran Eriksson, bearing in mind the result, will not have appreciated to the full.

With Tuesday's important Champions' League tie at home to Roma in mind, Wenger again left out Dennis Bergkamp, without whom Arsenal had effortlessly subdued Manchester United in the previous round. He needed everyone else.

The home side had taken to the pitch to their 1971 Cup final song "Good Old Arsenal" which won a recent popularity poll for the honour ahead of the "1812 Overture". Composed by Jimmy Hill in his London Weekend TV days to the tune of "Rule Britannia", it sounds almost as dated, conjuring up images of Peter Storey running round kicking people while men in long sideburns hit even longer passes forward for John Radford to chase.

But, whether inspired or not by Jim's lyrics ("While we sing this song, you'll win the game"), Bertie Mee's boys did the Double, setting a target for all future Arsenal sides that Wenger's athletic technocrats have so far matched, twice, without yet improving upon. Repeating the achievement in successive seasons, or turning it into a Treble by adding the European Cup would be necessary for that.

Mee's team, like Herbert Chapman's in the 1930s, made much play of absorbing pressure and breaking out quickly on the counter-attack, even at home. Hence the original use of "Lucky Arsenal", a term not heard so much with reference to Wenger's side, though they break just as cleverly, using pace and quick passing rather than long balls.

Vieira's passes were the key here, though by the time he set up the first opportunity almost midway through the first half, Arsenal had been a goal behind for 17 minutes. Barely had the latecomers settled than Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink nodded Gianfranco Zola through the middle as his marker slipped. David Seaman kept out the angled shot at the expense of a corner, which was cleared no further than Jesper Gronkjaer, 25 yards out. However erratic he may be, the Dane can generally place a cross when afforded such generous time and space. This one was perfect, catching Arsenal's defence moving out but leaving Terry unattended and onside to head firmly into the roof of the net.

It took the home side some time to recover and to adjust to the swirling wind. Then Vieira began to find his range. In the 20th minute he played an exquisite pass into the path of Francis Jeffers, who lured Cudicini into the challenge he was waiting for and tumbled down. Paul Durkin, possibly the season's outstanding Premiership referee, was fooled into giving the penalty but was sensible enough to show only a yellow card, on the basis that the cavalry, in the shape of a covering defender or two, were just about arriving. The Italian goalkeeper ensured rough justice was done by throwing himself to his right and pulling off a marvellous one-handed save from Henry's kick.

Martin Keown soon had to clear acrobatically from a mis-hit effort by Jody Morris, but Arsenal, whose spirit Wenger has so often praised, were not disheartened.

They forced Cudicini to another fine stop, keeping out Giovanni van Bronckhorst's curling free-kick with both hands, and despite still trailing seven minutes from the interval they went in for tea in the lead.

The equaliser, after 37 minutes, was scruffy. Jeffers fell over again on the edge of the box but got to his feet in time to take advantage as Celestine Babayaro failed to clear from Freddie Ljungberg. Even then Chelsea might have scraped the ball away, but Jeffers jabbed it gleefully past Terry on the line for his second goal in successive games.

Henry, pulling away to his favourite position on the left, then used his pace to latch onto Sol Campbell's pass, and beat Cudicini but not the far post. Arsenal would have been satisfied with that, but there was more. With stoppage time well underway, Vieira played his second outstanding through-pass of the match, finding his compatriot Henry onside as William Gallas inadvisedly moved up; the striker showed Jeffers, the sorcerer's apprentice, how to elude a goalkeeper legitimately with a dazzling turn before rolling the ball into an empty net.

At half-time, Chelsea withdrew Zola, who may or may not have been injured – who knows with Claudio Ranieri? – and sent on Boudewijn Zenden as a second winger, leaving Hasselbaink isolated down the middle. Apart from a smart pass by Emmanuel Petit to Hasselbaink, bringing a good block by Seaman, the ploy did not work and, within 25 minutes, a further change of tack followed, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Quique de Lucas coming on.

Arsenal, meanwhile, had put on a formidable French double in Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord. Pires immediately caused problems with a corner that Cudicini cleared with his shins and then a shot that should have been nearer the target.

As Chelsea strove for a replay, Gallas was guilty of a bad miss, heading too high from Hasselbaink's free-kick when marked as negligently as his fellow centre-back Terry had been for the visitors' goal.

But with six minutes remaining Hasselbaink forced a corner off Keown, and Campbell's clearance amid the mayhem bounced on to Lampard's shins and into the net.

Arsenal 2 Chelsea 2
Jeffers 36, Henry 45; Terry 3, Lampard 84

Half-time: 2-1 Attendance: 38,104