READING 5-7 ARSENAL REACTIONWe got Arsene's hairdryer: Manager's blast inspired Arsenal fightback
Hat-trick hero Walcott walking on hot air after remarkable League Cup win but "it's like a funeral" for Reading's shell-shocked McDermott
Scott Heavey
Theo Walcott revealed the Arsene Wenger hairdryer drove his Arsenal players to come back from 4-0 down after 40 minutes to beat Reading 7-5 in an incredible Capital One Cup tie.
Wenger did his Alex Ferguson impression and savaged his players, who had been booed off by their own fans, at half-time before staging a gobsmacking rally to reach their 10th successive quarter-final in the competition.
Man of the Match Walcott said: "It was unbelievable. We started very sloppy and had to wake up.
"The boss told us it wasn't good enough. It wasn't Arsenal. We showed everyone what we can do. We're absolutely knackered."
Wenger revealed afterwards the remarkable comeback had saved him from suffering one of his worst-ever defeats as a manager.
He said: "It was not one of our priorities but had we gone out and the way we could have gone out in the first half, that would not have been one of my proudest moments at the club as well."
Reading became the first team EVER in the history of either the League Cup or the FA Cup to score five goals and lose.
Boss Brian McDermott admitted the defeat was the worst of his career.
He said: "It feels like a funeral. But yes, it was the worst result of my career because we were 4-0 up against a top team and we won the game.
"I don't think I will be looking at the DVD of this one. I think it will go straight into the bin and we'll move on."
Laurent Koscielny's own goal was sandwiched between strikes from Jason Roberts and Mikele Leigertwood after just 20 minutes.
Noel Hunt added a fourth on 37 minutes, to leave Arsenal on the brink of a remarkable Capital One Cup exit and send some of travelling fans to the exits.
But Walcott netted just before half-time and sub Olivier Giroud made it 4-2.
More fans left the Madejski, before Koscielny pulled it back to 4-3 on 89 minutes.
Walcott scored again deep into the end of normal time to make it 4-4.
In extra time, misfit Marouane Chamakh made it 5-4 to the Gunners, Pavel Pogrebnyak levelled with five minutes left before Walcott put Arsenal in front to stay on 120 minutes and Chamakh netted a second in injury time.
Scott Heavey
"We went from disaster to pride, because we came back in the second half with a decent performance," added Wenger.
"At one point, all we had was hope because it didn't look like we'd go through. But we got the disastrous first half out of our system.
"The ninth goal looked like the winner because Reading had given a lot and mentally were down. But we looked comfortable in extra time.
"Reading had a fantastic first half and I know what it's like to be caught at 4-0 up. They should take credit from that performance.
"At 4-1 down I thought the comeback was possible because we were creating many chances in the second half.
"At 4-0 up a team thinks it has won the game. At 4-1 up you still think you've won.
"At 4-2 you suddenly realise it's not over and then the panic kicks in and that goes through the team.
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"This competition was not one of our priorities but had we gone out in the way we could have, that would not have been one of my proudest moments.
"I was very proud of the way we responded in the second half."
McDermott added: "I wasn't happy at half-time because we went in at 4-1 instead of 4-0. That gave them impetus they didn't need. We'd dominated the first half and then they scored a goal out of nothing.
"When you give good players and teams a lift like that, they take the chance. It was kamikaze football in the second half and extra time. Even at 5-5 it's extraordinary.
"Obviously it doesn't help that the referee added two minutes on to the four minutes of injury time to make it six. You can't tell the time as wrong as that, but he did.
"At full time nothing needed to be said to the players. Sometimes the less said the better. We know what happened.
"This game will be remembered for a long time, and that makes me feel a whole lot worse!"
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