It was a disappointing night for Chelsea at the Emirates in the end, as they took on Arsenal in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final but failed advance into the final. Liam Rosenior's men lost the first leg 3-2 at home and were unable to overturn the deficit, losing 1-0 in north London.
The new Chelsea manager was overseeing just his eighth game in charge since taking over from Enzo Maresca in January, but was dealt only his second loss on Tuesday night – both at the hands of Mikel Arteta. This latest defeat was decided by Kai Havertz as the German confirmed Arsenal's spot against Manchester City in the League Cup final with pretty much the last kick of the game.
At half-time, with his team needing one goal to get themselves level, Rosenior appeared very wound up by something. He has now clarifed what went down.
Rosenior Annoyed By 'Disrespectful' Arsenal
Footage captured by Sky Sports showed Rosenior furiously shouting “that’s your half! That’s your f****** half. F****** stay there,” during the two sides’ half-time preparations at the Emirates Stadium. It was clear he was annoyed at somebody from Arsenal, and the 41-year-old coach has now revealed who his anger was directed at.
Rosenior told the press that it wasn't the Arsenal players but rather the coaching staff who were showing enough 'respect' to his team. He said:
"It wasn't the players. When you warm up, we have our half and the other team have their half. I've never asked my team or coaches to encroach on the other team's territory. I thought they were affecting our warm-up.
"I asked them, maybe not politely, to move away. I'm not here to have mind games. There are certain etiquettes in football. I don't have an issue with anyone at Arsenal Football Club.
"A fantastic manager. Mikel [Arteta] is someone I've got so much respect for. It was just in that moment, I don't think that respect was shown to my team."
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Rosenior Defends Chelsea's Approach at the Emirates
Liam Rosenior
Liam Rosenior
While Rosenior showed fighting spirit on the sidelines, he perhaps could have insisted upon a bit more urgency from his players on the pitch. Indeed, the Chelsea boss has been criticised for his approach to the game, with the Blues rarely threatening Arsenal's goal, despite needing to score to keep themselves in the tie.
Speaking to Sky Sports on this, he said he was not surprised by the reaction in the media, but insisted his approach didn't lead to a poor performance, saying:
"No, the noise doesn't surprise me at all. That comes with the territory of being the head coach of Chelsea. If I was surprised by that, then I wouldn't have been prepared for this role.
"What people say outside of the club, what they think about the way my teams play, makes no difference to my decision-making or what I think is the right thing for the team.
"In hindsight, we didn't go through, you can always change and improve certain things that you do. But what I do feel at the same time is that it was a very, very solid performance against a team that is very, very good at home.
"We turned the tide in the second half and the game could have easily gone our way. Disappointed not to go through, but now we'll move on and focus on Wolves."
Arsenal will now take on Manchester City at Wembley on 22 March.