Carabao Cup: Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-2 in Rosenior’s first home match in opening semi-final match

Arsenal advanced to their first League Cup final since 2018 when they defeated London rivals Chelsea 3-2 in the opening leg of their semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Mikel Arteta’s side dominated for long periods and goals from Ben White, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi should have all but closed the tie.

But Chelsea showed plenty of fight in Liam Rosenior’s first home game and a double from substitute Alejandro Garnacho kept their hopes alive.

With 17 attempts on goal compared to Chelsea’s 10, Arsenal will feel they should have gone home with a bigger margin of victory, and it will be all to play for in North London on February 3.

“We didn’t play very well in the second half,” White said. «We let ourselves be put under pressure and it wasn’t up to our standards, so a bit disappointing in the second half. But it’s a win.»

Arsenal top the Premier League and Champions League and progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Arsenal are still in contention for four trophies, but the League Cup represents their first chance to win their first silverware since 2020.

It certainly started as if determined to book a Wembley date, taking the lead after seven minutes with the kind of goal that has become his trademark this season.

Declan Rice turned in a corner and with Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez and his defenders struggling, White had space to head down and into the net.

RARE ‍GYOKORES TARGET

Chelsea huffed and puffed in response but seemed unable to trouble Arsenal and found themselves in real trouble shortly after the break when Gyokores, who earned big during the summer, scored for the second time in his last 11 appearances.

Sánchez fumbled with White’s low cross and the ball squirmed free for the Swede to tap home.

Rosenior responded by sending through Garnacho and he made an immediate impact as Pedro Neto’s cross found him past the far post and he steadied himself before firing in from an angle. Chelsea were re-energized but Arsenal picked it up in the 71st minute, with Gyokores this time turning the provider with a ball inside to Zubimendi, who showed great composure before sending a rasping shot past Sanchez.

That seemed to have struck the hosts but Garnacho remained lively and when the ball fell to him on the edge of the penalty area he bounced on the ball late on through a crowd.

Manchester City defeated Newcastle United 2-0 on Tuesday in the first leg of the other semi-final.

Published on January 15, 2026