JUMP TO:
With a spot at Wembley on the line, Arsenal welcome London rivals Chelsea to Emirates Stadium for the second leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal matchup on Tuesday holding a 3-2 aggregate lead.
The Gunners prevailed by a goal in the first leg a few weeks back to establish their advantage at the midway point, although the lead could have been greater had Chelsea not clawed back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 at various points of the match.
The League Cup will be the first of many trophies Arsenal are eyeing over the second half of this campaign. They also lead the Premier League table by six points through 24 matches, and they finished top of the league phase in Champions League play as well.
Chelsea also have plenty to play for and will place an added importance on this particular competition thanks to being out of contention for the league title as they sit 13 points adrift in fifth. The Blues also finished amongst the top eight places in the European standings to earn passage to the Round of 16, and they remain alive in the FA Cup, the fourth round of which takes place next week.
The Sporting News is following the Arsenal vs. Chelsea match live, providing score updates, commentary, and analysis.
Arsenal vs. Chelsea live score
Score (Pregame) Goal scorers
Arsenal – –
Chelsea – –
Location: Emirates Stadium (London, England)
Referee: Peter Bankes
Starting lineups (predicted):
Arsenal (4-3-3, right to left): Kepa (GK) — Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie — Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice — Madueke, Gyokeres, Trossard
Chelsea (4-2-3-1, right to left): Sanchez (GK) — Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Hato — Fernandez, Caicdeo — Neto, Palmer, Garnacho — Joao Pedro
Arsenal vs. Chelsea live updates, highlights from Carabao Cup second leg
2 hours to kickoff: Welcome to coverage from The Sporting News of Arsenal vs. Chelsea in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal matchup!
The January transfer window closed quietly yesterday, and both of these teams remained silent, happy to press on with the current makeup of their squad.
Arsenal did suffer a late blow with the loss of Mikel Merino to a broken foot, but they decided not to pursue any knee-jerk reaction to that news. Chelsea, meanwhile, sport their traditional bloated squad to help them paper over a litany of injury absences, although they did recall defender Mamadou Sarr from his loan at sister club Strasbourg to help with injuries at the back.
Mamadou Sarr has returned to Chelsea from his loan spell at Strasbourg.
Welcome back, Mamadou! 💙
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 2, 2026
Arsenal vs. Chelsea kick off time
This Carabao Cup semifinal second leg kicks off from Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, February 3 at 8 p.m. local time in London, England. Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:
Date Kickoff time
USA/Canada Tue, Feb. 3 3 p.m. ET
USA/Canada Tue, Feb. 3 12 p.m. PT
UK Tue, Feb. 3 8 p.m. GMT
Australia Wed, Feb. 4 7 a.m. AEDT
India Wed, Feb. 4 1:30 a.m. IST
Arsenal vs. Chelsea lineups, team news
The Gunners will be without Mikel Merino for a significant period of time after he underwent surgery to repair a broken foot.
Mikel Arteta said that the injury to Bukayo Saka "doesn't look like something too serious," and even suggested he could be available for this game, but it feels unlikely he would be risked so soon.
It must be tough for Arteta to sit Kai Havertz after the German has scored in each of his two appearances since returning from injury, but the Gunners will surely be careful after he spent such a long spell on the sideline, and with Martin Odegaard rested last time out, he is likely to come back into the XI.
Arsenal projected starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Kepa (GK) — Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie — Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice — Madueke, Gyokeres, Trossard
Arsenal subs: Lineups released approx. one hour and 15 mins prior to kickoff
Chelsea are without young winger Estevao who returned to Brazil for personal reasons and has not yet returned.
Jamie Gittens has a hamstring injury, while Tosin Adarabioyo is absent due to a thigh problem of his own and remains sidelined for a bit longer. Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia are also on the mend and not expected back for another few weeks.
Mamadou Sarr has returned from his loan at Strasbourg early, but even given the fact that his new manager Liam Rosenior was essentially also his old manager, it's hard to see him being chucked straight into the XI. Levi Colwill is a long-term absentee after tearing his ACL early in the season.
Chelsea projected starting lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Sanchez (GK) — Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Hato — Fernandez, Caicdeo — Neto, Palmer, Garnacho — Joao Pedro
Chelsea subs: Lineups released approx. one hour and 15 mins prior to kickoff
Arsenal vs. Chelsea live stream, TV channel
Here is how to watch the match in some of the world's major regions:
Region TV Streaming
USA — Paramount+
Canada — DAZN
UK Sky Sports Main Event, ITV1, STV Sky GO, ITVX, STV Player
Australia beIN Sports 3 beIN Sports Connect
India — FanCode