Viktor Gyokeres recognised he must maintain high standards to retain his place as Arsenal's centre-forward, after ending a month-long goal drought in Wednesday's EFL Cup win at Chelsea.

Gyokeres scored and registered an assist as Arsenal triumphed 3-2 at Stamford Bridge to put one foot in the final, holding off an Alejandro Garnacho-led fightback in the second half.

Having gone four games without a goal since netting in a 1-0 win at Everton on December 12, Gyokeres had attracted stern criticism from pundits and fans.

His goal against the Blues – which arrived when Robert Sanchez spilled Ben White's cross in the 49th minute – was his first in the EFL Cup since netting for Brighton against Portsmouth in September 2020, and his eighth in all competitions since joining the Gunners. 

Only Gabriel Martinelli (nine) has netted more for Mikel Arteta's team this season, while Gyokeres also got his first assist for the club when his neat hold-up play teed up Martin Zubimendi to score their third goal in the 71st minute.

Asked about those goal contributions by Sky Sports, Gyokeres said: "That's what I need to do, and I can do it more often. We won today and we keep going.

"There's still a second leg, but of course, it's good to come away with a win and an advantage for the second leg. We still have to give a good performance in the second match.

"I think it was a tough game. We defended well. They were, as always, dangerous when they had counter-attacks, but I think we defended well. 

"We were unfortunate to concede two, but offensively we scored three, so we're happy with that."

Arsenal are looking to halt a run of four consecutive semi-final defeats across all competitions, having been eliminated in the last four of the 2020-21 Europa League, 2021-22 EFL Cup, 2024-25 EFL Cup and 2024-25 Champions League.

It is their longest-ever run of final-four eliminations, and Garnacho's second-half brace kept Chelsea's hopes alive ahead of the second leg on February 3.

Right-back White, who got Arsenal's opening goal and later turned provider for Gyokeres, hopes Arteta's men will not regret dropping their level in the second half.

"We didn't play very well in the second half and let them put us under more pressure," White said. 

"That's how we conceded the goals. It was not up to our standards really. It's a bit disappointing, the second half, but we got the win."