Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea (4-2 on aggregate) (Havertz 90+7)
EMIRATES STADIUM – Being generous, encounters like this are described as a “chess match”. The trouble is not many people turn up in the torrential rain to watch live games of chess, with good reason.
That will not worry Mikel Arteta, who finally banished one of his great hoodoos – winning a semi-final at the fifth attempt as Kai Havertz’s stoppage-time winner sent Arsenal to Wembley.
They are a team of contradictions – so controlled and hyper-fixated on precision that they forget to bother with aesthetics. Too hysterical to win trophies and yet seemingly devoid of the normal emotions that accompany the biggest occasions.
It should alarm Liam Rosenior more, one of the brightest coaching prospects in England. For a window into the mindset of the modern manager, you could not have hoped for a better showdown than the one here. It was like watching a couple of data deities for the kind of football fans who enjoy expected goal metrics more than actual goals, slowly rearranging the pawns from the dugout.
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"I'm surprised people have done it more."
Ian Wright and Karen Carney on how Chelsea have dealt with Arsenal's corners #ITVFootball | @Carabao_Cup pic.twitter.com/rsY1vOuh6R
If Arsenal are robotic, they are also uber-professional. Rosenior, by contrast, seemed to lose sight of what Chelsea were there to do, arriving at the Emirates with a one-goal deficit. They went conservative when there was nothing to conserve. Reece James and Pedro Neto were absent and Estevao and Cole Palmer could only start on the bench.
But likewise Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard were missing too. This was no vintage Arsenal performance. In the first half, Viktor Gyokeres was restricted to just three touches. There were the familiar struggles from open play; indeed the most interesting thing Chelsea did in 90 minutes was a sudden rush to take three players out of the box as Arsenal prepared a corner, ensuring their hosts had to do the same.
There has been so much to like about Rosenior’s early work at Stamford Bridge, the dramatic comebacks against Napoli and West Ham, and there are mitigating factors. There is still not enough depth in that defence and it looked nervous on the night. In practice it was a back five and the transitions were not effective enough. Upon the hour mark on went Estevao and Palmer and Alejandro Garnacho soon joined, but it was too late once the life had already been sapped out of the tie.
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Garnacho has required some bold handling. In the first leg, he was the only reason Chelsea remained in the tie with two goals, but his role in the two they conceded against West Ham was enough to see him hauled off at half-time. It cost him a starting role in north London, Rosenior’s firmest hand towards a Chelsea player so far. Given the repeated question marks over discipline under Enzo Maresca, that is no bad thing.
Teams have to change and evolve but Rosenior does not enjoy the same luxuries as Arteta. The latter can insist that, contrary to the naked eye, they are in fact “the most exciting team in Europe”, rebutting Paul Scholes’ claim that we are about to witness “the most boring team to win the Premier League”. And he can say that because Arsenal are even closer to silverware now as they head to Wembley.
Instead Chelsea emulated Arsenal’s worst traits without delivering the best ones, finishing with an xG of 0.68. They looked reticent, overawed and stagnant. It is the first time since replacing Maresca Rosenior has really fallen into such an obvious trap.
Paul Merson delivered the most scathing critique of the night, saying he was “flabbergasted” by Rosenior’s approach.
“I can’t believe what I’ve just watched,” he told Sky Sports. “Chelsea aren’t a bottom-five team. They have World Cup winners. “[Wesley] Fofana is crying. He should be crying because they never had a go. They’ve gone out with a whimper in a semi-final.”
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