Carabao Cup: Arsenal off to Wembley after beating Chelsea again

Carabao Cup semi-final: Arsenal beat Chelsea at Emirates – Havertz sends Gunners to Wembley final; Arteta calls it “vitamin” boost.

Former Chelsea playmaker Kai Havertz dances around Robert Sanchez of Chelsea to score the only goal of the night as Arsenal beat Chelsea in the second leg of their Carabao Cup clash at the Emirates. (Photo credit: BBC)

Mikel Arteta has described Arsenal’s Carabao Cup second-leg victory over Chelsea at the Emirates as the right “vitamin” to galvanise his squad as they push for titles on all fronts this season.

Arsenal went into the return leg with a 3–2 advantage after beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in Liam Rosenior’s debut game in charge. One would expect Chelsea to attack from the blast of the whistle, but the opposite happened.

Rosenior opted for control rather than aggression, starting a midfield of Moisés Caicedo, Andrey Santos and Enzo Fernández instead of pressing Arsenal high up the pitch. Arsenal were happy to absorb the pressure, circulate the ball and wait for opportunities to strike.

Arteta made use of the wealth of talent at his disposal, handing starts to Kepa Arrizabalaga, Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Martinelli. It was Martinelli who nearly opened the scoring after beating Malo Gusto in a foot race, only for the Frenchman to recover and block his effort.

Rosenior’s decision to wait late into the game proved costly, as the trio of Cole Palmer, Estêvão and Alejandro Garnacho failed to bypass Arsenal’s midfield and the immense pairing of Jurrien Timber and Piero Hincapié. The two full-backs were outstanding throughout, shutting down Chelsea’s threat from wide areas.

Arteta’s substitute, Kai Havertz, eventually handed Arsenal the winner with a dramatic breakaway move at the death. Declan Rice, who once again delivered a sensational performance, released the German forward, who rounded Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez before calmly slotting into an empty net.

The victory sends Arsenal to Wembley for their first final in six years, where they will face either Manchester City or Newcastle United. City hold a healthy 2–0 advantage from the first leg and will look to build on that in a season that has already appeared gloomy.

“We’re only one match away,” Arteta told a news conference. “It’s the best vitamins that we can put in our bodies because we’re playing every three days. But the fact that we worked so hard to achieve those moments and to have them together is just magical.

“You can see the joy, the smiles, the energy from everyone at the club. Winning helps in every sense — confidence, energy, everything you can think of. We’re going to be there in a few weeks and we’ll prepare well.

“In the meantime, we have to put it aside because three days later we have a massive Premier League game here against Sunderland. We must be ready, and we’ll try to excite the fans again.”