Chelsea failed to break down Arsenal in what was a frustrating Carabao Cup second leg, with nothing between the two sides.
Liam Rosenior has still only lost one game as Chelsea boss but the draw with Arsenal does see the Blues crash out of the Carabao Cup.
It was a case of keeping it tight for Rosenior until the second half, where he would then make changes, and it worked out how we wanted. Just Chelsea could have done more in the first-half.
The decision to start Liam Delap and have Cole Palmer on the substitutes’ bench didn’t pay off at all, as the striker was taken off early in the second half.
There weren’t many individual performances to shout about for Chelsea, but one player who deserves an applause once again is Andrey Santos.
Enzo Fernandez on the left…?
What do you make of Liam Rosenior’s starting side?
Arsenal v Chelsea - Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
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Andrey Santos is a man transformed under Liam Rosenior
Santos has played seven out of a possible eight since Rosenior took charge, with six of these coming via starts, in all competitions.
Not only has he established himself as a guaranteed starter, but he’s now one of the most important players in this Chelsea side.
So much so that Rosenior is starting to build his team around Santos.
Under Enzo Maresca, the Brazilian was primarily a rotation option rather than a regular starter. While he featured in 17 Premier League games during the first half of the 2025/26 season, the vast majority of those appearances were brief cameos off the bench.
Is Liam Delap not good enough for Chelsea or are we not playing to his strengths?🤔
Liam Delap's display vs Arsenal
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
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Andrey Santos’ stats for Chelsea against Arsenal
Santos made one tackle, three defensive contributions, one interception, one block, four recoveries, won all three of his duels, completed 43 out of 44 passes and had 51 touches (FotMob).
On a night that saw Chelsea struggle, he provided a pretty much faultless performance.
He has a sense of calmness on the ball that brings back memories of N’Golo Kante, but he also offers the drive to move forward and get involved in the final third.
And the fact that he’s only 21 is crazy.
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