Chelsea and Liam Rosenior will take the positives out of Wednesday night’s 3-2 defeat to Arsenal, but ultimately, it leaves Rosenior’s men with little chance of reaching the Carabao Cup final.
For the neutral, Wednesday night’s semi-final was a brilliant clash between two rivals that were clearly fighting for a cup final. It had everything: mistakes, plenty of goals, and plenty of handbags at full-time.
Robert Sanchez was the villain of the piece. The Chelsea goalkeeper came back into the starting line-up as one of eight changes made by Liam Rosenior, but he made two abysmal mistakes for Arsenal’s goals.
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Plenty of positives, plenty of negatives…
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The first, caught under the flight of a corner which was headed in by Ben White. The second, failing to hold onto a low cross, which was tapped in by Viktor Gyokeres. Chelsea would go on to lose 3-2.
Alejandro Garnacho got himself a brace on the night after coming off the bench, scoring his goals either side of the winner through Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi. Kai Havertz also made an appearance.
What Chelsea fans did when Kai Havertz got the ball
At Arsenal, there are plenty of players who once played for Chelsea. Noni Madueke made the move to the Gunners from Chelsea in the summer, as did Kepa, albeit the goalkeeper had been loaned out by Chelsea.
Chelsea v Arsenal - Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg
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Havertz is another, but it was unclear if the German would play after a long-term knee injury. He had only just made his return on the weekend, coming off the bench during Arsenal’s FA Cup win at Portsmouth.
On Wednesday night, Havertz came off the bench for the final few minutes of the game. The Arsenal star had little impact on the outcome of the game, but that did not stop Chelsea fans from booing him.
BBC Sport reported: “Pedro Neto, meanwhile, has been booked and, a little earlier, Arsenal made more changes, with Kai Havertz one. The former Chelsea player is being booed each time he touches the ball.”
Who was Chelsea’s biggest disappointment on the night? 😡
Some terrible performances on such a big night…
Chelsea v Arsenal - Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
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What Kai Havertz said when he joined Arsenal from Chelsea
There is no doubting that Havertz has been a better player since he moved to Arsenal from Chelsea back in the summer of 2023. The Gunners spent a fee of £65m to lure the Germany star across London.
His move came after having a hand in 48 goals during 139 Chelsea matches. Just 32 scored by himself while at Arsenal, Havertz has 42 goals and assists in just 91 outings. Almost one every two appearances.
Clearly, he has made the right move and speaking on the move at the time, Havertz told Sky Sports that the decision to make the move was the “best thing he could have done”. Clearly, a reason for the boos.
The two London rivals will now do battle in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals and for a place at Wembley on February 3, in which Havertz’s Arsenal will play host and boast a one-goal advantage.
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