It was the latest display of Arsenal’s power and aggression, their remorselessness. And when it was over, this Carabao Cup semi-final felt firmly within their grip. But for a late goal from the Chelsea substitute Alejandro Garnacho, his second of an eventful cameo, it would surely have been over.
Even so, it was difficult on this evidence to predict anything other than Arsenal progressing into the final; moving closer to a rare piece of silverware under Mikel Arteta – one to pave the way for others this season?
Arsenal brought the physical fight. There were times when they seemed to bully Chelsea, when they made Liam Rosenior fret on his first home game as the Chelsea manager. They scored the opener from a reassuringly familiar source, Ben White converting from a Declan Rice corner – Arsenal’s 24th goal from a set piece this season.
Robert Sánchez offered minimal resistance in the Chelsea goal; he was all at sea under the delivery and he would be at fault for Arsenal’s second, which was turned in by Viktor Gyökeres early in the second half. Sánchez’s handling error on a low cross from White was grotesque, of a piece with an erratic individual performance.
Chelsea battled, especially Garnacho, even if his first goal was the prompt for Arsenal to score again. It was Martín Zubimendi who provided the moment of the night, a flash of silk amid the steel, his ice-cold finish after Gyökeres’s layoff leading Arteta to rub his eyes in astonishment.
At that point, it felt as though Arsenal would score again to turn the second leg in early February into nothing more than a contractual obligation. Credit to Chelsea for staying alive, to Garnacho for another confident conversion. Rosenior could praise the spirit of his players. Was it real hope? The smart money said it was simply an illusion.
It was comfortably the biggest game of Rosenior’s managerial career, albeit this is a line that will be repeated quite a bit in the coming weeks and the first thing to say is he could have been luckier with his player availability. The headline absentees were the injured Reece James and Cole Palmer and the suspended Moisés Caicedo. Liam Delap was a late cry-off because of illness.
Arteta’s idea was to leave nothing to chance. He has been stung by too many semi-final defeats. He has managed to get through only one of five so far during his time in charge at Arsenal – against Manchester City on the victorious FA Cup run in 2019-20, his only trophy to date. He went as strong as possible with his XI, apart from giving Kepa Arrizabalaga a runout in goal.
If it was the dream start for Arsenal, it was a nightmare for Rosenior. He had been introduced to the Stamford Bridge crowd before kick-off, striding on to the pitch to applaud the fans but there was only hesitation from his defenders after Jurriën Timber won an early corner off Trevoh Chalobah. “Set piece again,” chorused the Arsenal fans before Rice dropped the kick into the area of maximum discomfort. They have seen this movie before.
It was a horrible moment for Sánchez. He was boxed in and ran only into his teammate Marc Cucurella, before stretching up an arm in a vain waft at the ball. White headed down and in from point-blank range.
Arsenal brought the intensity. They pressed high. Rosenior roamed his technical area, clapping in quickfire bursts in an attempt to gee up his players but it was tough going before the interval. Chelsea diced with disaster as they tried to play out from the back, Arsenal players hounding them every step of the way. Sánchez looked particularly shaky.
Estêvão Willian was a bright spot for the home team. There was a jet-heeled burst from him in the 37th minute, taking him away from a posse of red but then no help from his teammates towards the corner flag. Inevitably, he was crowded out. Moments earlier, he had cut inside to unload a vicious shot with minimal backlift that Arrizabalaga repelled.
The Stamford Bridge natives were restless and there were boos from them at half-time. Arsenal had toyed with a second goal, Zubimendi swiping one shot high, William Saliba going close with another and the goal did come after the restart.
Arsenal played quickly from a throw-in on the right, Bukayo Saka releasing White on the overlap but the full-back’s low cross looked straightforward for Sánchez. Yet his first move was almost to jump; it was certainly a weird way to set himself and the fumble was a consequence. Gyökeres needed a goal. He will not score an easier one.
Garnacho’s response was well timed because the mood among the home fans was turning. The dissatisfaction at the hierarchy is palpable; many supporters have lost faith in Behdad Eghbali, the co-controlling owner, and the youth-first project that he is overseeing; the trading model. They told him in no uncertain terms that he was “not wanted here”. There were also chants in support of the former owner, Roman Abramovich.
Rosenior had introduced Garnacho for the ineffective Marc Guiu and the goal followed a Pedro Neto cross. Garnacho lurked unmarked beyond the back post; a rare Arsenal defensive lapse. He lashed past Arrizabalaga.
Back came Arsenal. Zubimendi’s composure was astonishing, his fake-to-shoot move sending Wesley Fofana off towards Fulham Broadway station, the time bought for the shot past Sánchez. The Chelsea goalkeeper would save brilliantly to keep out a volley from the substitute Mikel Merino, while Gabriel Magalhães might have scored from a corner.
Arsenal were rampant, although Garnacho took a little wind out of their sails when he rammed a shot down and in after Gabriel could only half-clear following a corner. It was only a little.
