The Gunners are at Stamford Bridge, as we square up to Chelsea in the Semi-Final of the Carabao Cup.
The Blues have just appointed a new, promising young manager, in Liam Rosenior… and I’m sure he’ll be determined to impress his new bosses, and I’m certain that his new players, will be determined to impress him.
Not for the first time this season, The Arsenal face a team, with that “New manager bounce”.
The fact that it’s a London Derby, adds some extra animosity to the fixture… and Mikel Arteta’s red & white army, will be ready for war!!
Chelsea are on the back of a 5-1 win against Charlton, in the FA Cup… and The Arsenal are on the back of a 4-1 win against Portsmouth, in the same competition.
Both teams will be up for this, both teams will want the bragging rights, and both teams have the chance to move closer, to obtaining silverware.
The starting lineup was strong, and I couldn’t be happier! The Carabao cup is viewed by many, as an inferior competition, that shouldn’t be respected. I…. am NOT, among the “Many”.
We’re in the semi’s of a cup competition, you play your BEST team!!
Mikel Arteta agreed, and started with Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal… whose been our keeper for the cup competitions, this season.
Timber came in at left-back, Gabriel and Saliba, in central defence… and Benny Blanco (Ben White) at right-back.
In midfield, Rice, Zubimendi, and Odegaard.
The front three was Trossard on the left, Gyokeres through the middle, and Saka on the right.
I thought we’d start rather tentatively, overly cautious maybe… which would’ve been understandable… considering the quality of the opposition. The Gunners though, flew out of the traps! We were aggressive in the tackle, our passing was efficient, we closed down the space quickly… and time on the ball for The Blues, became a scarce commodity.
We earned a corner in the 7th minute, and I heard the Stamford Bridge faithful, hold their breath, groan in frustration, stamp their feet in anger, and pray they defend properly… all at once.
The Arsenal fans though cheered, in anticipated jubilation, because we know how deadly we are from set-pieces.
Declan Rice took the resulting corner, put a great ball in (As usual) … and Benny Blanco headed the ball home, from close range. 1-0 to The Arsenal!!
It was Ben White’s first goal, since scoring twice against Chelsea, back in April 2024.
The perfect start for us, and I LOVE that it was from a set-piece too, as people hate that we’re so good at it. They’ll probably bring in a rule to ban set-pieces soon, or make up a reason as to why it’s unfair to score that way. (HAHAHA)
The Gunners were in complete control of the game, and yes… I know I say that a lot, but that’s only because… WE CONTROL GAMES!! I’m but a humble messenger, reporting what I bear witness to, during Arsenal games… and I will see my testimony truthful, and well received. (HAHAHA)
Anywhoooo… we WERE controlling the game, and we simply blue Chelsa away, with our explosive football. We were beating them black, and blue… yet the scoreline only remained 1-0. The lady waited patiently, and was poised with her musicians, ready to sing the blues, but unfortunately, it wasn’t quite time for her to approach the microphone.
The first half ended 1-0 to The Arsenal, and because of how well we played, and how dominant we were… I couldn’t shake the feeling, that it should’ve been more.
In the second half, we looked like we had no plans to release our foot from Chelsea necks, and in the 49th minute… we pressed more of our bodyweight, down on their windpipe.
Saka picked up the ball on the right, paused for the Benny Blanco overlap, laid the ball off to him… and Mr Blanco looked up, saw Gyokeres in the box… squared it, and Gyokeres tapped the ball in. 2-0 to The Arsenal!!! That’s a goal, AND an assist, for Ben White.
A lovely Arsenal move, and I’m so happy for Gyokeres, as the criticism he’s had to contend with, has been unreasonable, underhanded, and unrelenting. I hope this sets him off on a goalscoring run now, so we can tick off another false narrative, about The Gunners… that we’ve obliterated.
Against the run of play, in the 57th minute, Alejandro Garnacho… latched on to a cross from Pedro Neto, after some sloppy defending from The Gunners…and he put the ball in the back of the net, with a low finish.
In our defence, we raised our foot ever so slightly off their necks, which we shouldn’t’ve of done… and they shouted their way onto the scoreboard. No cohesion, no finesse… just inaudible, shouty football. 2-1, and game on.
The Blues were lifted by the goal, and the home crowd mirrored their feeling. Their incessant noise, threatened to undo Arsenal’s hard work… BUT, we don’t respond to threats, especially from an inferior football club.
Arteta made some changes in in the 67th minute, when Trossard made way for Martinelli… and Odegaard was replaced by Merino.
I had no issue with the subs, as both players that went off, had a quiet game, by their own high standards.
Chelsea were very much in the game now, but without goalmouth incident, and in the 71st minute, we had to remind them… that there’s only ONE TEAM, in London!!
We had to once again, ensure that our explosive football… BLUE them away!
Saka picked up the ball on the right, passed it inside to Merino, on the edge of the box. Merino found Gyokeres, who was just inside the Chelsea box… and he held the ball up superbly, ensuring that his next pass was a decisive one. He played the ball to Zubimendi, who dropped the shoulder, fainted to shoot, and while doing so… he sent the Chelsea defender, Wesley Fofana, to another realm, to get refreshments. Fofana’s mind told him “No”… but his body couldn’t help but twist involuntarily, and attempt to go in two different directions… in response to Martin Zubimendi’s great skill.
Zoobaaah-Zoobaaah, then shifted the ball onto his weaker left foot, and smashed the ball past the hapless Blues goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez. 3-1 to The Arsenal!!!! Oh, and that’s an assist for Gyokeres, by the way.
The move… GLORIOUS, the finish… EMPHATIC… and The Blues… DEFEATED. Well, so I thought.
We had further chances to increase our goals tally, the best chance falling to Mikel Merino, but a good save from Sanchez… yes, the hapless Sanchez… prevented the scoreline from getting embarrassing, for Chelsea.
In the 82nd minute, further substitutions were made.
Kai Havertz came on for Declan Rice, and Gabriel Jesus, replaced Viktor Gyokeres.
The clock showed 83 minutes gone, and Chelsea scored again… and it was from a set-piece, no less. We seemed to of unknowingly, taught set-piece efficiency, to the enemy.
The Blues earned a corner, a defensive header fell to Garnacho… and he hit it first-time into the ground, and his deceptively powerful shot, bounced past Kepa. 3-2 the scoreline.
Thankfully, we regained control of the game, and prevented Chelsa from getting an undeserved equaliser. The match ended 3-2 to The Arsenal. We return to The Emirates with a goal advantage, in the second leg.
That’s ANOTHER win for us at Stamford Bridge. Arteta has NEVER lost there, in his six years in charge,
The Blues have to start calling it “The Emiridge”… because it’s our home, away from home. We’re ALWAYS winning there! (HAHAHA)
A great result in a semi-final, away to our London rivals. We can now look forward to the next game, which is an away fixture, to Nottingham Forest, in the Premier League.
We’re at the business end of the season now, and all remaining games are MUST WIN, and at the very least… MUST NOT LOSE!
Do you agree with my match analysis? Did I forget anything?
Personally, I think we’re going to DESTROY Chelsea, in the second leg. What do YOU think?
We’re still very much still in all four competitions, which one should we prioritise?
Let me know in the comments, as usual.
We’ll be hunting, gathering, and foraging in the forest next. A HUUUUUUUGE Premier League game!! Three points please Arsenal. COYG!!
gunnersayit.com 
Leave a comment