Chelsea goal hero Frank Lampard praised his side's resilience after his 83rd-minute stab earned them an FA Cup sixth round replay against holders Arsenal.
Lampard got the final touch after Mario Melchiot and William Gallas flicked on an inswinging corner. He said: "It was an incredible contest. I thought it was a fair result. We deserved a draw for the character that we showed." A replay was the last thing Arsenal wanted with a crowded Champions League schedule ahead, but they had only themselves to blame after missing enough chances to wrap up the game by half time.
Thierry Henry had a penalty saved by Carlo Cudicini, then broke clear only to shoot against an upright.
John Terry gave Chelsea a third minute lead, heading in Jesper Gronkjaer's cross as Arsenal's offside trap fell to pieces.
Henry should have levelled 17 minutes later after Francis Jeffers went down under Cudicini's challenge, but the Chelsea keeper flung himself down to his right and saved the spot-kick.
Jeffers did level after Babayaro failed to complete the clearance when Cudicini blocked Fredrik Ljungberg's shot.
Henry was inches away again after breaking on to Sol Campbell's through pass, when the ball rebounded off the inside of a post.
He made no mistake in first-half stoppage though, slicing through Chelsea's backline and turning Cudicini to roll the ball home.
David Seaman foiled Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Gallas headed over before Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri threw on Eidur Gudjohnsen to support Hasselbaink as a last throw.
Suddenly Arsenal were penned back and Lampard gave Chelsea their reward.
Arsene Wenger may regret taking off Henry and sending on Kolo Toure to protect the Gunners' lead, as with Patrick Vieira subdued, his side never found their fluency in the second half.
Appropriately, the last word went to Cudicini, who pulled off a flying save as Giovanni van Bronckhorst's free-kick deflected off Jody Morris in the final seconds.