Arsenal are Carabao Cup finalists after Mikel Arteta played to his side’s defensive strengths against Chelsea, whose plan was working perfectly until it was time to execute it.
As is the case more often than not in matches against ‘Big Six’ rivals, Arsenal seemed more focused on not losing rather than winning. And as is becoming a trend in Chelsea’s matches under their new manager, a large part of Liam Rosenior’s plan was for his substitutes to make the difference.
Rosenior’s plan against West Ham on Saturday wasn’t to completely change things at half-time, but he knew with Marc Cucurella, Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto and Reece James all rested, the bench was going to impact the result.
It completely turned the match on its head after a dismal first-half display at Stamford Bridge but was as much a warning about Chelsea’s insufficient depth as it was an example of Rosenior’s tactical nous and flexibility.
Cole Palmer was the super sub who changed things at Napoli in the Champions League last week and he was always going to be the one Rosenior relied on to do so at the Emirates on Tuesday night.
With Arsenal always likely to have the handbrake on, the plan was simple: keep it tight for an hour and bring Palmer and Estevao on to officially Go For It.
There was only a goal in it between Arsenal and Chelsea after a 3-2 away win in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg, and that allowed for Rosenior and Mikel Arteta to give us 60 minutes of nothingness before 30 minutes to decide the tie.
Arsenal’s nothingness extended to only one Viktor Gyokeres touch in the opening 30 minutes and Robert Sanchez only being tested by a 20-yard Piero Hincapie strike.
Both sides had one shot on target each in the opening hour of the match and seven total shots between them. There were a few set-pieces, obviously, but it was boring and going perfectly to plan for Chelsea boss Rosenior as everyone tried to work out what formation the Blues were playing.
Breaching this Arsenal defence is easier said than done. For all the handbrake talk, Arteta can argue that he is simply playing to his team’s strengths. They have the best back five in the Premier League and probably Europe, and being a goal up on aggregate did set things up for Arteta to be more negative than positive.
That game plan ended up working but did not play to the strengths of players like Eberechi Eze and Gyokeres. You’d be forgiven for not knowing the former was even playing. He was non-existent. Only useful for being a draught excluder. He’d have been as well not even playing. Just throw another defender on, Mikel, FFS.
But, at the end of the day, Arteta’s plan worked when it looked for a while like it would come second best to Rosenior’s, whose plan was going swimmingly until it was actually time to score. Arsenal didn’t give them a sniff.
Chelsea did turn things up following the 60th-minute introduction of Palmer and Estevao, but they didn’t create enough against a rigid and ridiculously solid Arsenal team, who managed to secure a 4-2 aggregate victory thanks to Kai Havertz’s 98th-minute winner on the night.
A 1-0 home win in north London means a first cup final for Arsenal since 2020, when the Gunners won their only major trophy, the FA Cup, under Arteta.
That is huge and after a match where the result held more precedence than the performance, Arsenal fans will quickly forget about how dull Tuesday’s win was and move on to thinking about the Carabao Cup final on March 22. For once, boring the spectators was the best port of call for Arteta. You can’t argue that given Arsenal are finalists and Chelsea are not.
Until Arsenal’s first Carabao final since 2018, attention turns to the other three competitions Arsenal are competing in, with their Carabao final opponents to be decided on Wednesday night. Though it was really decided when Manchester City won at St James’ Park against Newcastle.
Top of the Premier League after 24 games. Wigan Athletic at home in the fourth round of the FA Cup. In the last 16 of the Champions League. And in the final of the Carabao Cup. Arsenal are where Liverpool were last season, with the Q-word being thrown around.
It will never happen…but what if it does?
Winning the Carabao Cup is the first step towards that unprecedented achievement, but this competition holds incredible value in a club’s bid to become serial winners.
That first taste of silverware could see Arsenal kick on and build a dynasty under Arteta. That winning feeling and experience will be key going forward. Those second-place finishes in the Premier League are more likely to turn into title wins, and Champions League semi-finals are more likely to become finals.
Winning all four competitions has never been done before but Arsenal are favourites in all three English competitions and up there in the Champions League with your Bayern Munichs and Barcelonas.
Plenty of factors will impact their ability to get over the line in every competition. Rotation, injuries, fatigue and strange results will have a huge say and Arsenal will surely get tripped somewhere on this long road to success, but until that happens, they are going to enjoy the journey and being able to dream.
It’s all about getting that first trophy in the bag. Do that and an Arsenal dynasty could be on the cards.
