Updated: April 18, 2009
Poland international Lukasz Fabianski had a birthday to forget as his error gifted Chelsea a 2-1 victory in their FA Cup semi-final defeat of Arsenal at Wembley.
Theo Walcott put the Gunners ahead after 18 minutes when his volley took a deflection off Ashley Cole and beat Petr Cech.
Chelsea fought back and levelled through Florent Malouda, and sealed a return to Wembley when Didier Drogba latched on to a long ball ahead of the on-rushing Fabianski, and slotted into a empty net six minutes from time.
Although Andrey Arshavin went close in stoppage time, there was no way back for the Gunners, allowing Chelsea to claim capital dominance, while also quietly keeping them on track for the Treble.
And, as almost a side issue, there is bound to be a further clamour for Guus Hiddink to stay on as manager beyond next month, although it had not looked too good for the Dutchman earlier on.
Having conceded seven goals in a week, the last thing Petr Cech needed was to see another flash past him in slightly dubious circumstances.
In fairness, Cech was not the only one culpable. Nicolas Anelka was caught on his heels as Kieran Gibbs nipped past to reach Emmanuel Adebayor's neat pass.
Gibbs' cross was decent, allowing Theo Walcott to let fly with a first-time volley that flicked off Ashley Cole's hand.
The deflection did alter the direction of the ball. Yet the feeling persisted that the Cech of three years ago would have kept it out.
Walcott's goal was just reward for a sparkling start. The young England star was the pick of an Arsenal side whose movement was a joy to watch, even if their end product was not always the best.
Denilson and Abou Diaby had been asked to anchor midfield. Yet they still found time to push forward. Indeed, with a bit more composure, Diaby might have found the net himself.
The Gunners' bench contained Arshavin, Samir Nasri and Aaron Ramsey. In other areas they were lacking, specifically goalkeeper.
In all probability Manuel Almunia would not have been involved at Wembley even if an ankle injury had kept him on the sidelines.
On Friday Wenger expressed his faith in Fabianski. It looked more like blind optimism judging by the Pole's first-half performance.
On his 24th birthday, Fabianski was the one handing out presents, setting the tone barely two minutes into the game when he lost out in an aerial duel with Drogba, Gibbs forced to chase back and hack off the line as the Ivorian's header was about to bounce in.
Fabianski was then fortunate to escape when he failed to get behind a fierce shot from Florent Malouda that skimmed under his body before flashing across goal.
It all pointed to an equaliser, which duly arrived when Malouda cut inside Emmanuel Eboue and beat Fabianski at his near post, although it was hard to quibble with the Frenchman's accuracy.
Anelka hit a post after robbing Diaby inside the Arsenal box just before half-time and Chelsea continued to look the more likely scorers after the break, even though their opponents were, in patches, the better team.
An acrobatic clearance by Alex may have denied Walcott, who was involved in a fascinating duel with England team-mate Cole, but it fell perfectly for Robin van Persie, who could only fire disappointingly over.
Anelka was off target with a header at the other end, before Lampard volleyed an excellent chance wide from Drogba's cross.
Through all this, Fabianski had been relatively stable.
All that changed six minutes from the end when he inexplicably raced out of his area as Drogba brushed off Mikael Silvestre to reach Lampard's long ball.
What should have been a 50-50 duel turned into a walkover as Drogba skipped round Fabianski and tapped Chelsea into the final, where they will meet either Manchester United or Everton on May 30.
After the match Frank Lampard refused to contemplate the possibility of a Champions League and FA Cup double.
Lampard told Setanta Sports: "It's going to be difficult - we are confident but we never get too far ahead of ourselves.
"It means loads, we take this competition very seriously. We came back strongly (after Tuesday) and I think we deserved it."
Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal gave away "cheap" goals and also criticised the state of the pitch at Wembley, although he refused it as an excuse for the Gunners' defeat.
The Frenchman said: "It was a game where any mistake in the end could be costly.
"It is disappointing because we had a good start and after we dropped off.
"The game looked as through it would finish as a draw - I felt we gave two cheap goals away."
Goalkeeper Lukazs Fabianski appeared vulnerable throughout and should have done better with the goals.
Wenger went on: "I feel sorry for him because he is a great goalkeeper.
"But we have to take that on board."
He still showed his unwavering belief in his young side though saying: "When you are so close and you are 20 years of age I don't know why you would be desperate."
Source:soccernetESPN
LeBoey's Comment
It would be a "dream finals" if Man Utd were to meet Chelsea, but first MU must overcome the huddles which is in the way tonight, by beating Everton.
Evertonians must be dreaming of an elusive Cup success and their players wont take a backseat in this challenge.
Let us watch the game. Whatever the outcome from this match, I'll always be a Saint!
No devils, please.
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