A Blue Up North reviews our League Cup exit at the hands of The Gunners.
Arsenal knocked Chelsea out of this season’s League Cup with victory on Wednesday evening at The Emirates in the second leg of their semi final. This was the 5th time these 2 sides have met already this season and The Blues are yet to register a win against their North London rivals.
Antonio Conte went into this match without Cesc Fabregas and Alvaro Morata due to injury but opted to start with the more attacking 3-4-3 formation. Unlike in the 4-0 victory over Brighton at the weekend, the Chelsea manager picked Eden Hazard as the central forward, flanked by Willian and Pedro.
In the opening minutes the formation worked very well and the away side seemed able to drive forward at will. With the pace and fluidity of the front 3, Chelsea were not only able to attack but also create chances and it came as no surprise when Hazard ran onto a sublime Pedro through ball and slotted in the opening goal.
A great start by The Blues was beautifully rounded off with an early lead but instead of continuing to press forward and going for the jugular, the away side eased off. Sadly this gave the impetus to the home side who were driven on by Wilshere and Ozil. But despite starting to wrestle control of the match, Arsenal hardly looked threatening up front and it took a freak double deflection for them to get the equaliser.
With the tie back on an even keel, it was once again the away side who grew in stature and started to impose themselves on the match again. Alonso and Moses were able to press forward, forcing Bellerin and Iwobi into constant defensive duties. With Xhaka and El Neny being over run by Kante and Bakayoko, it seemed only a matter of time before Chelsea’s front 3 would be able to break through once again.
However, on 30 minutes there was another key moment in the match. Willian was forced off with a hamstring injury and was replaced by new signing Ross Barkley for the ex Evertonian’s debut for The Blues. In Willian’s absence, Chelsea’s ability to threaten Ospina’s goal diminished.
From the start of the second half, El Neny sat deeper in midfield and ensured Eden Hazard struggled for any space just in front of the Arsenal defenders. From then on the away side created little and after Arsenal managed to score a second deflected goal, even the introduction of Michy Batshuayi could not prevent Arsene Wenger’s side getting through to next month’s final.
It had been a miserable couple of months for The Gunners. They have fallen away in the Premier League table where they now lie in 6th, 23 points behind leaders Manchester City. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Nottingham Forest at the first hurdle of their attempt to retain the trophy. Then earlier this week they finally said goodbye to their talisman Alexis Sanchez who has now joined Manchester United.
However another Wembley Cup Final will ebb the flow of discontent coming from their fans and gives Wenger a chance to win the only domestic trophy he has not lifted with the club.
From Chelsea’s point of view, this was a very disappointing evening. Some of that disappointment was in losing at the semi final stage. Some was in losing to arch rivals Arsenal. But possibly the highest level of disappointment was the fact that the Chelsea side started so well, dominated and played as though they would reach the final comfortably.
But there were 2 key moments that can be looked back on in turning what should have been a win into a loss. And both were hugely preventable.
Firstly, how was Monreal allowed to have such a clear free header near the penalty spot? Yes the equalising goal took 2 very unfortunate deflections, but the left back should not have had so much space and time in such a dangerous position.
The other was when Willian needed to be replaced due to his injury. The 3-4-3 formation was once again looking very imposing and fluid, but the manager decided to change it by bringing on Barkley instead of Batshauyi. The latter has generally been struggling for form over the last month or so but has improved in the last 2 matches, especially in the victory away at Brighton.
Barkley is a very attacking midfielder who loves to support the forwards, to create and to score chances. He is highly talented and could become a key player in the Chelsea squad. However this was not only his debut for The Blues but it was his first competitive match this season. And it showed. Both physically and mentally he laboured whilst his passing and ball retention were not up to his standard. With league and cup matches against lesser teams coming up, the timing of his debut seems strange. There were other options in the squad and even on the bench.
Once again the 3-5-2 struggled to press forward and the Arsenal defence found keeping tabs on just 2 forwards much easier. Up until this change, Hazard was regularly involved and was a constant threat. The Arsenal midfield had found it difficult to get through Kante and Bakayoko, with the latter able to turn the opposition and drive forward.
Bakayoko had been coming under regular criticism recently but this was another strong performance from the young midfielder and that’s now 3 consecutive matches in which he has registered over 90% pass completion. However he seems to get stifled and unsure of his positioning when amongst a central midfield of 3 and thrives in a more open role in a midfield 2.
So a match that started with so much promise was settled by very fine margins. If only the ball had been deflected wide of the goal, if only Willian had not gone off injured, if only Conte had kept with the 3 up front and brought on Batshauyi, if only Alonso’s late free kick had not sailed well over the bar, if only Chelsea could’ve kept pressing forward and not sat back when in the lead.
But results are not based on “if only”. The Chelsea players, manager, board and fans will all rue the missed opportunity but the focus should now be on Sunday and another competition.
Bring on Newcastle United and the FA Cup.
Written by Jon Ellis. Follow him on Twitter @ClitheroeBlue
