Cazorla opened the scoring in the sixth minute, but Villa came back strongly and equalized through Andreas Weimann after the break.

Arsenal threw everything at Villa keeper Brad Guzan, but the Gunners could not find a way past until Cazorla found the net with five minutes remaining — saving his manager from another ear-bashing from the supporters who have started to doubt whether the Frenchman is the right man to lead the club forward.

Many had questioned whether Wenger had lost the plot this week with a bizarre news conference rant sandwiched in between two disappointing defeats to Blackburn and Bayern Munich.

Some of those doubters will not have been convinced by this performance. Wenger’s men were often sloppy in possession, looked edgy at the back, and their propensity to want to walk the ball in to the net caused a huge amount of frustration among the home crowd at a sparsely populated Emirates Stadium.

After the match, Wenger took aim at his critics once more. When asked whether these had been “dreadful times”, Wenger replied: “Of course. But you do your job and focus on the next game. That’s what I did.

“I’m not 30 years in this job at the top level to be destroyed by people saying I don’t know what I’m doing. (If I was) I would have stopped this job a long time ago. But we have responsibilities and have to stand up and get the team ready to fight.”

Whatever criticisms are aimed at Wenger — whether it be his match tactics or his transfer policy — there is no doubt he possesses players who can turn the game with a bit of magic. Cazorla is certainly of them.

The Spaniard, who now has 11 goals for the club, drifted in and out of the game, but he took his two strikes brilliantly.

“Santi Cazorla played very well and delivered in a game that was very important. He’s a great player,” Wenger said. “He has shown he’s a great football player and I’m happy and grateful he delivered those two important goals today.

“I didn’t expect him to score so many goals for us. He has 11 games to go so he could get a few more. For me, he’s a complete football player because he also has spirit. He was a bit tired in the last few minutes, but he continued to fight. He’s a good example to follow. He’s happy to come and play and practice every day, and he gives you absolutely everything on a football pitch.”

The win puts pressure on Tottenham, which now has a one-point advantage over their rival for fourth place ahead of a game at West Ham on Monday.

Villa remains one point above the relegation zone, and on this evidence, certainly has the players to stay up.

Watched by owner American owner Stan Kroenke, making a rare visit to north London, Arsenal started well.

Jack Wilshere capitalized on a poor backpass and raced at goal, but the midfielder fired straight at the American Guzan.

Cazorla then lifted the quiet atmosphere inside the Emirates with Arsenal’s opener in the sixth minute.

Nathan Baker blocked Cazorla’s initial shot after some good work by Wilshere, but the Spaniard made no mistake with his second effort, slotting past Guzan with a beautiful curling effort.

Urged on by an animated Paul Lambert from the touchline, Villa looked to hit straight back. Charles N’Zogbia raced down the right past Thomas Vermaelen and pulled the ball back for Gabriel Agbonlahor, but Wojciech Szczesny saved.

N’Zogbia cantered down the flank moments later, but Agbonlahor was unable to keep up with him and he arrived just too late to tap in the Frenchman’s cross.

Weimann was the next man to charge at the Gunners defense. He laid the ball off to N’Zogbia, but Szczesny parried well before Thomas Vermaelen hooked the ball clear.

Villa’s attacks led to a nervous atmosphere inside the Emirates, but Theo Walcott brought them to the edge of their seats with a teasing curler that flew inches over Guzan’s goal.

Villa continued to pour forward, however. Matt Lowton nutmegged Abou Diaby and entered the Arsenal box, but Vermaelen came to the rescue with a last-gasp tackle. Lowton caught the Belgian in his follow-through and was booked for the foul. Diaby then entered the book for a clumsy challenge on N’Zogbia.

Arsenal’s passing was often sloppy and the home fans became annoyed at the Gunners’ attempts to pass the ball in to the net.

The hosts did produce an impressive move just before the break, though, with Cazorla finding Olivier Giroud, but Guzan was equal to the Frenchman’s effort.

Arsenal started to dominate the game again after the break but again was reluctant to shoot on goal, much to the annoyance of the home crowd.

With Arsenal throwing so many players forward, the Gunners were left vulnerable at the back.

Weimann went on another rampaging counter down the right and crossed for Agbonlahor, but the forward headed wide.

Wenger was forced into a change just after the hour when Diaby hobbled off with another injury. Aaron Ramsey came on in his place.

Villa then stunned the home side by equalizing. Carl Jenkinson failed to clear a long punt down field, the ball made its way to Weimann and he went on a blistering 40-yard run before beating Szczesny with a weak shot.

Wenger rose from his bench and cast a disappointed glare at his team. His troubles nearly worsened soon after when Christian Benteke found space at the back post, but Per Mertesacker got in front of the Belgian before he could head on goal.

Wenger gambled, throwing Lukas Podolski on for Jenkinson, and Arsenal pressured the visitors’ box.

Guzan saved brilliantly to deny Giroud from point-blank range as Arsenal continued to pile forward.

Arsenal got its reward five minutes from time when Nacho Monreal swung the ball into the box and Cazorla converted, much to the relief of Wenger and the home fans.

Lambert was disappointed to see his team come away with nothing despite a pleasing display.

“We shouldn’t have lost it,” he said. “We were exceptional in parts of that game and we should have been in the lead at halftime. At the very least we should have come away with a point.”

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At a time when Ron Atkinson has cited a lack of leaders as one of the biggest problems facing his former club in their survival battle, the Republic of Ireland international has suffered a blow in his comeback plans.

Dunne, 33, was considered to be on the verge of returning to Paul Lambert’s youthful defence but the manager has given a worrying update in the wake of the 2-1 defeat against Newcastle United.

“It looks like he has had a setback,” the manager said. “We will have to wait and see over the next few days whether it settles down again. He trained on Monday but came in today (Tuesday) and felt something.”

With supporters close to giving up on any hope of transfer-market reinforcements before the window shuts on Thursday night, Dunne’s availability would feel like a big boost as he hasn’t played for the club since the defeat at Norwich at the end of last season. He then had five outings for the Republic before and at Euro 2012.

The Dubliner’s two previous clubs, Everton and Manchester City, appear ominously on Villa’s fixture list over the next month and a half, with a trip to Arsenal also thrown in. It is a tough run for a side low on confidence but at least midfielder Fabian Delph may be fit after a sprained ankle for the first of those assignments, at Goodison Park on Saturday.

And Gabby Agbonlahor, who won the penalty that accelerated last night’s sustained but unavailing rescue bid against Newcastle, said: “In the second-half performance, there was a lot more fight and belief. We have to take some heart out of that for Everton.”

Lambert acknowledges that his squad have to ‘fight like hell’ to haul themselves out of a hole that deepened with the good draws gleaned by QPR and Wigan on Tuesday.

Villa have taken only two points from their last seven League games, conceding 22 goals and scoring five in the process while also going out of the two domestic cups to lower-division opposition.

“If things don’t go your way, people don’t want to make mistakes,” the manager said. “They want to play the safe pass.

“The performance against Newcastle was night and day between the first and second half. We were too deep in the first half and too reserved with our passing. We are going to have to fight like hell to get ourselves out of it.”

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Villa was unable to claw back the 3-1 deficit from the first leg of the Capital One Cup encounter even though leading scorer Christian Benteke put it in front before halftime.

James Hanson’s headed effort early in the second period effectively killed off the tie and Villa substitute Andreas Weimann’s last-gasp goal secured a 2-1 win on the night but it was too little, too late.

The final whistle was the cue for wild scenes of delight from Bradford manager Phil Parkinson and his players who had overcome Arsenal in the previous round. His side will now take on either Swansea or Chelsea at Wembley at the end of February; Swansea leads Chelsea 2-0 heading into Wednesday’s second leg.

“It’s dreamland,” Bradford manager Phil Parkinson said. “We said tonight we had a chance to make history, and we have done it.”

The cash generated by the cup run can help to safeguard the northern English team’s future. It has twice entered administration — a form of bankruptcy protection — since being relegated from the Premier League in 2001.

“To go to Wembley is going to keep the club going for quite a while, I imagine,” Parkinson said. “For the city of Bradford, it’s massive and I really feel that this can galvanize the area.”

After plummeting down the soccer pyramid, Bradford is now the lowest-ranked former Premier League team, 10th in England’s lowest professional division.

“Our supporters have stuck with the club through some really tough times,” Parkinson said. “Over the last 10 years there hasn’t been a great deal to cheer about.”

The only other club from the bottom division to reach the final was Rochdale in 1962, when the competition was in its infancy and many of the leading sides did not participate. For Villa, it was a massive blow to take in a season where they have become embroiled in a relegation battle.

The first half-chance fell to Benteke who climbed above the Bradford defense to meet a cross from Charles N’Zogbia but he directed his header wide. Another menacing center from N’Zogbia was headed back across goal by Benteke towards Matt Lowton although he could not keep his header down.

After 24 minutes, Villa Park erupted as Benteke gave the home side the lead. Left-back Joe Bennett curled the ball in from the flank and Benteke was first to react as he prodded the ball past Bradford keeper Matt Duke.

The game followed a similar pattern at the start of the second period with Benteke failing to make full contact on a header from Lowton’s center.

But after 55 minutes, Villa’s Achilles’ heel at set-pieces again proved its undoing as Hanson restored Bradford’s two-goal aggregate lead, the striker getting in front of Ron Vlaar to head home Gary Jones’ corner and send the 6,500 Bradford fans wild.

Villa boss Paul Lambert brought on a fourth striker in Weimann with 20 minutes left and he put Villa ahead on the night after Benteke’s flick-on, but Bradford survived the final few minutes to book their place in next month’s Wembley final.

“As a kid playing football, you dream of Wembley and we’re going to do it,” said Bradford goalkeeper Matt Duke, who beat testicular cancer in 2008. “We’re going to take a League Two club to Wembley, we’re going to take a massive following, it’s going to be an amazing day and I’m looking forward to it.”

Villa, owned by American billionaire Randy Lerner, is one point and one place above the Premier League’s relegation zone.

“It’s my responsibility … I am absolutely gutted, disappointed, hurt, everything,” Villa manager Paul Lambert said.

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