LONDON -- Arsenal avoided FA Cup embarrassment against second-tier club Wigan on Saturday, coming from behind against the holder and winning a penalty shootout to reach the final where the London club will be looking to end a nine-year trophy drought. After extra time ended 1-1, Arsenals players scored all of their penalties and Lukasz Fabianski made two vital saves in a 4-2 shootout victory over Wigan in this meeting of the fifth-place teams in the Premier League and League Championship. Wigan went in front in regular time from the penalty spot at Wembley Stadium. Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker conceded the spot kick that Jordi Gomez converted but the German made amends by heading in the equalizer that sent the game into extra time. "In the first half we were a bit timid," Mertesacker said. "A lot of people questioned (our character) recently but how we came back today we proved a lot." A year after winning its first major trophy by beating Manchester City and then again in this years semifinals, Wigan couldnt produce another upset against a Premier League power -- much to Arsene Wengers relief. "It was important mentally," the Arsenal manger said. "If you imagine the consequences of going out tonight, it would have been quite worrying." With the second half of his 18-year reign defined by the lack of silverware, Wenger desperately needs to collect a first trophy since the 2005 FA Cup success when Arsenal returns to Wembley for the final. Arsenal will discover on Sunday whether it will face Premier League side Hull or third-tier club Sheffield United on May 17. It could be a bittersweet end to the season, though, with Arsenal at risk of missing out on the Champions League after 16 successive years. Just before kickoff at Wembley, Arsenal was dislodged from the fourth Champions League place by Everton, which beat Sunderland 1-0. What a slump it has been for Wengers side, having spent so much of the opening months of the season on top of the league. The failure to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window has come back to bite Wenger. How differently things could have turned out if he had brought in an additional striker. Instead, Wenger on Saturday was relying for goals on 21-year-old striker Yaya Sanogo, who was starting just his fourth game since joining on a free transfer before this season. Olivier Giroud was on the bench. Sanogos lack of cutting edge and pace in front of goal quickly became apparent. The Frenchman was denied by Scott Carson from close range after five minutes and again just before halftime when his unconvincing first touch to control the ball allowed the goalkeeper to thwart the attempt. If there was anything to reassure a dreary Arsenal side failing to produce the fluid football Wenger champions, it was Wigans inability to provide much attacking menace. So Arsenal gifted Wigan the opening to go in front. Mertesacker slid in with a lunge to cut out Callum McManamans run and the forward went to ground in the penalty area. After a delay while Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal received treatment elsewhere on the pitch, Gomez, a product of Barcelonas youth system, sent the spot kick beyond the reach of Lukasz Fabianski. The anger among Arsenal fans who have grown accustomed to failure was clear: Jeers greeted Wengers decision to bring Giroud on, not for Sanogo but Lukas Podolski in the 68th. The equalizer proved elusive. After Carsons save from Kieran Gibbs header sent the ball drifting toward the goal, Wigan defender Stephen Crainey scooped the ball off the line. Wigans goal was finally breached in the 82nd when it couldnt fully clear a corner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain raised the ball over the defence and Mertesacker headed in at the far post. It was a lucky escape for Arsenal, which was denied a winner in extra time when Oxlade-Chamberlain hit the crossbar but had better luck in the shootout. Fabianski saved Wigans first two penalties by Gary Caldwell and Jack Collison, while Arteta, Kim Kallstrom, Giroud and Cazorla all netted for the Gunners. "We are walking out of Wembley on paper as losers but in our own mind as winners," said Wigan manager Uwe Rosler, whose focus returns to gaining promotion back to the Premier League. Isaiah Oliver Jersey .Shipulin pulled away from Martin Fourcade of France, Simon Eder of Austria and Fredrik Lindstrom of Sweden to finish in 35 minutes 16.8 seconds. Fourcade was 1.2 seconds back in second place to reclaim the overall World Cup lead, with Eder another 0. Calvin Ridley Falcons Jersey . After Mondays comments by Coach Claude Noel that its work first and skill second, and that more “A” games are needed, the Jets responded with a 47-shot effort. If not for terrific goaltending by Braden Holtby the Jets would have had two points in regulation. http://www.falconsapparelsshop.com/isaia...ns-jersey-c-69/. Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. Garrett Grayson Jersey . Louis Cardinals for the National League Wild Card, are in the drivers seat as they open the final series of the regular season, but they face a large task in the form of the Philadelphia Phillies. Logan Paulsen Jersey . -- Center Max Unger and tight end Zach Miller are both probable for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday against the New York Giants and Percy Harvins recovery continues to be slow.At the age of 46, Dominik Hasek was still playing hockey. He put on his goalie pads for the final time Feb. 27, 2011 in the KHL. At the age of 49, "the Dominator" is expected to be part of the class of 2014 at the Hockey Hall of Fame, which will be announced this afternoon on TSN2 at 3pm et/Noon pt. Though nothing is guaranteed, the six-time Vezina Trophy-winner should be a lock. "For me its a no-brainer," former Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said earlier this year. Hasek won one Stanley Cup as a starter with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002, then split time with Chris Osgood and became the backup in the playoffs for the 2008 title. He came close to the Cup in 1999 with Buffalo, only to be beaten by the Dallas Stars on Brett Hulls foot-in-the-crease overtime goal. Haseks best years came with the Sabres, when he had seven straight seasons with a save percentage of .930 or higher. He finished with 234 career regular-season victories in Buffalo and 389 over his 16-year NHL career. Veteran goaltender Tomas Vokoun "knew all along" Hasek would be great from watching him play in their native Czech Republic. "It took him a little bit just because of his style and all that to convince people here," Vokoun said in a phone interview. "I definitely consider him, if hes not the best, one of the top three to ever play. ... He definitely deserves to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer." Swedish centre Peter Forsberg is also expected to get the call to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. American-born centre Mike Modano leads the other new candidates and is the most likely to be inducted, ahead of three-time Cup-winner and first-ballot dark horse Mark Recchi. Forsberg, who began his career with the Quebec Nordiques following the blockbuster Eric Lindros trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, went on to win two Cups with the Colorado Avalanche.dddddddddddd He finished with 885 points in 708 regular-season games as his career was cut short by foot injuries. With 1,374 points over 21 seasons, Modano became the most prolific American-born scorer in NHL history. Late coach Pat Burns remains a candidate in the "builder" category, a year after Fred Shero was posthumously elected 38 years after leading the Flyers to back-to-back Cups. Burns, a three-time Jack Adams Award winner as coach of the year, died in November 2010 at the age of 58. This is the first year John Davidson is serving as chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee, replacing Jim Gregory. Bobby Clarke, David Poile and Luc Robitaille were appointed to the committee for the first time. Clarkes addition raised the question of whether Lindros would stand a better chance of being elected. Despite a contentious relationship with the Lindros family, the longtime Flyers general manager is considered a proponent of his Hall of Fame case. Lindros has similar numbers to Forsberg — 865 points in 760 games over 13 seasons — and won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1994-95. The three-time Canadian Olympian and world junior standouts resume isnt as Hall of Fame-worthy as Haseks. The goaltender is all but certain to be inducted Nov. 10. "I appreciate it, its very nice to be among all these big players," Hasek said recently when asked about impeding election to the Hall of Fame. "I appreciate to be one day, maybe, in the Hockey Hall of Fame, however ... it was never my goal when I was playing hockey." Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '