ROQUE Santa Cruz must be wondering what he has to do to pick up a win bonus.

For the second time in four days, the Paraguayan international dragged Blackburn Rovers back from the brink of an embarrassing defeat, only to then see his team-mates shoot themselves in the foot.

Trailing 2-0 to goals from Abou Diaby and Eduardo inside the opening 29 minutes, Santa Cruz then sparked an unlikely comeback with two goals either side of half-time, just as he had with his hat-trick at Wigan on Saturday.

But, sadly, Rovers' defensive failings then came back to the haunt them once again, just as it did at the JJB Stadium.

With an embarrassment of riches at his disposal, Arsene Wenger was able to name a completely different eleven from the side that started Sunday's victory against Chelsea at the Emirates.

But, as Hughes rightly pointed out in his pre-match press conference, Wenger's supporting cast is more like a second first XI, as opposed to a reserve side.

Even after the wholesale changes, Wenger was still able to call on stellar performers like Eduardo, Denilson, Diaby, Nicklas Bendtner and Philippe Senderos, all of whom would stroll into most teams outside of the Big Four'.

And it took them all of six minutes to pierce Rovers' fragile defence.

Quicker in both thought and deed, they struck in cobra-like fashion from a throw-in wide on the right.

Ryan Nelsen and his defensive cohorts were left chasing shadows as Arsenal cleverly worked the opening with a quick flurry of passes on the edge of the penalty area.

In a blur, the ball arrived at the feet of Bendtner, who in turn picked out Diaby with unerring precision.

Arriving on Steven Reid's blind side at the back post, the Frenchman then floated a shot beyond Brad Friedel and into the far corner: 0-1.

Rovers were still recovering from that set-back when they nearly shipped a second three minutes later.

Bendtner glided past Chris Samba with the minimum of fuss on the left, before clipping a shot over Friedel that looked destined for the back of the net.

But this time, the woodwork came to the home side's rescue, the ball rebounding back off the crossbar.

Rovers finally gave the home fans something to shout about in the 28th minute, David Dunn firing in a shot from the edge of the area which Lukasz Fabianski, the Arsenal goalkeeper, shovelled rather unconvincingly around his left-hand post.

However, any thoughts of building up some momentum soon evaporated as another defensive howler presented Arsenal with a second goal on a plate.

Denilson's angled pass should have been dealt with comfortably by Samba but, instead, the African made a complete hash of his interception.

That left Eduardo with a free run on goal and he was never going to miss: 0-2.

Thankfully, though, as long as Santa Cruz is around, there is no such thing as a lost cause.

The striker, whose injury-time goal on Saturday triggered a second half revival, was on the money once again, swooping to halve the deficit two minutes before the break.

David Bentley threaded an incisive pass between two Arsenal defenders, and Matt Derbyshire delivered a low cross into the centre for Santa Cruz to slide in and claim his 10th goal of an increasingly productive campaign.

That tally nearly became 11 three minutes into the second half.

A pass from Robbie Savage sent Santa Cruz racing clear but Fabianski dashed out to smother the danger.

The mercury rose still further in the 55th minute.

Having booked Stephen Warnock for a late challenge in the first half, referee Mike Riley then failed to do the same when Diaby slid in on the Blackburn defender, as if to prove Hughes' theory that officials favour the big teams.

The Blackburn End was rightly incensed and they cranked up the decibel levels from that point onwards.

With Ewood suddenly feeling like the Colosseum, Santa Cruz answered the call to arms.

On the hour mark, Bentley swung over a trademark free kick from the left-hand touchline and Santa Cruz rose highest in a packed penalty area to power a header past Fabianski. Game on!

Rovers looked the side most likely to win the tie in normal time.

A shot from Derbyshire was deflected wide; then Santa Cruz, chasing his second hat-trick in four days, completely missed his kick in front of goal.

The ugly side of Arsenal's game reared its face in stoppage time when Denilson, their Brazilian midfielder, launched into a two-footed challenge on Dunn, sparking an ugly melee.

When ordered was finally restored, Mr Riley, for once, had the courage of his convictions and reached for his red card.

Advantage Rovers. Or so it should have been.

Arsenal regrouped in extra-time and snatched the lead once again in the 105th minute.

Alex Song's slide-rule pass dissected Samba and Nelsen all too easily, and Eduardo darted in behind, giving Friedel no chance with another expert finish: 2-3.

Rovers still had chances to snatch something from the fire.

Pedersen went close with a dipping free-kick; Benni McCarthy flashed a volley wide; and a Samba header thudded against the post.

However, Rovers ultimately paid the price for some poor defending.