Second half strikes from Kristoffer Olsson and Benik Afobe helped Arsenal beat Boreham Wood 2-0, while both Chelsea and Liverpool came from behind to register wins against Wimbledon (3-2) and Preston North End (2-1) respectively on Saturday.
Although the Gunners starting line-up consisted of some of their regular first team players, including Aaron Ramsey, Wojciech Szczesny, Carl Jenkinson and Nacho Monreal, they had to wait till the 68th minute for the first goal, before a late penalty sealed the game for them.
The first chance of the game fell to Yaya Sanogo, who forced a good save out of James Russell after receiving a pass from Ramsey.
Sanogo was again in the thick of action at the half-hour hark as he sent the ball towards Jon Toral on the edge of the box. Toral fired a good shot on goal but his effort went out after clipping the post.
The Gunners continued to put pressure on Boreham's defence in the second half as Sanogo, after finding some space inside the box, fired an effort straight at Russell.
Abou Diaby then tested Russell with an excellent effort but the goalkeeper lived up to the challenge as he made a stunning one-handed save to deny the midfielder.
The Gunners finally made the breakthrough in the 68th minute through midfielder Kristoffer Olsson. Tomas Rosicky sent a brilliant through ball towards Olsson, and the 19-year-old found the net with a chipped effort past Russell.
With only four minutes remaining, Arsenal were awarded a penalty after Chuba Akpom was brought down in the box. Fellow striker Benik Afobe stepped up and eased the ball into the bottom corner, sealing the victory for Arsenal.
Meanwhile, two late strikes from captain John Terry, coupled with a goal from Mohamed Salah, helped Chelsea come from behind and register a 3-2 win over Wimbledon.
The Blues, who started with the likes of Nemanja Matic, Salah and Kurt Zouma, were shocked when the League Two side took the lead just after 38 seconds thorough Alan Bennett.
George Framcomb whipped the ball into the box from a corner and Bennett outjumped the Chelsea defence before forcing a header past Mark Schwarzer.
With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, things went from bad to worse for Chelsea as they conceded a penalty when Zouma chopped down Matt Tubbs inside the box. The Wimbledon striker stepped up and made no mistake in slotting the ball past Schwarzer.
However, the Blues luck began to change in the second half when Jose Mourinho introduced Terry.
The Chelsea captain managed to pull one back in the 74th minute when he reacted quickly and headed home, after the League two side were unable to clear Lewis Baker's corner.
Nine minutes later the west London club managed to get the equaliser through Salah, who slotted the ball past James Shea after receiving a pass from Baker.
And just as the game looked to be heading towards a draw, Terry grabbed the winner right at the death. Baker whipped the ball into the box in another corner and the 33-year-old rose above his marker to glance the header past a helpless Shea.
Liverpool also made a late comeback to register a 2-1 over Preston North End at Deepdale.
Preston, who were clearly the better side before the break, broke the deadlock in the dying minutes of the first half through Josh Brownhill.
Joe Garner forced a save out of Brad Jones with a brilliant overhead effort, and the rebound fell to Brownhill, who tapped the ball into an empty net.
The Reds started playing better after the break as they started piling pressure on Preston's defence.
After a lot of huffing and puffing, Liverpool finally found the leveller through Suso, who found the net with a brilliant curling effort from the edge of the box.
Three minutes later, the Reds grabbed the winner thorough Kristoffer Peterson. Jordan Ibe raced ahead from the left flank before cutting a pass to Peterson, who made no mistake in slotting the ball past Thorsten Stuckmann.
