Arsenal face Chelsea in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday at 8pm UK time. After progressing past Port Vale, Brighton and Crystal Palace, the Gunners aim to reach Wembley for the second season running.
This is the third League Cup semi-final between the two London rivals. Arsenal advanced in 2017/18 with a 2-1 aggregate win, while Chelsea progressed in 1997/98. The match offers a chance for revenge after last season’s painful exit in the competition.
Mikel Arteta hopes for efficiency this time. He noted the team’s consistency in the cup but stressed learning from missed chances last year to knock out another big side.
Chelsea under new management
Liam Rosenior took over as Chelsea head coach on New Year’s Day after Enzo Maresca’s departure following 18 months. Rosenior, previously at Hull City and Strasbourg, started with a 5-1 FA Cup win over Charlton.
Chelsea reached the semi-finals by beating Lincoln City, Cardiff City and Wolves. Rosenior is confident in his group’s hunger and belief for a strong performance against Arsenal.
Team news and tactical outlook
Arsenal will miss Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera due to injuries. William Saliba and Leandro Trossard are doubts after missing the FA Cup tie at Portsmouth.
Chelsea are without Moises Caicedo through suspension. Malo Gusto, Reece James and Cole Palmer are also doubts after missing their FA Cup match.
Adrian Clarke expects Chelsea to stick with 4-2-3-1, focusing on wide attacks with talented wingers like Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho, Estevao and Jamie Gittens. Set pieces will be a threat, with Chelsea scoring 12 Premier League goals from dead balls.
He sees Chelsea’s defence as vulnerable due to lack of settled partnerships and no clean sheet in seven games. Arsenal should exploit this by creating chaos in the box and showing adventure.
Facts and referee details
Mikel Merino has scored in his last two games against Chelsea. Arsenal are unbeaten in their last seven visits to Stamford Bridge, last losing in August 2018.
Simon Hooper referees the match, with Adrian Holmes and Simon Long as assistants. Jarred Gillett handles VAR, assisted by Timothy Wood. This is the first round with VAR in the competition this season.
Live coverage is available on Arsenal.com and the app, with commentary from Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke.
