London ¨C Arsenal edged toward its first League Cup final since 2018 as it beat London rival Chelsea 3-2 in the opening leg of their semifinal at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta¡¯s side was dominant for long spells, and goals by Ben ?White, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi should have virtually sewn up the tie.
But Chelsea ?showed plenty ?of fight in Liam Rosenior¡¯s first home game in charge, and ?a double from substitute Alejandro Garnacho kept its hopes alive.
With 17 shots on goal compared to Chelsea¡¯s 10, Arsenal will feel it should have gone home with a bigger margin of victory, and there will be everything to play for in north London on Feb. 3.
¡°We didn¡¯t play very ?well in the second half,¡± White said. ¡°We let them pressure us, and it wasn¡¯t up to our standards so a bit disappointing in the second half. But it¡¯s a win.¡±
On top of the Premier ?League and the Champions League and into the fourth round of the FA Cup, Arsenal is still in contention for four trophies, ?but the League Cup ?represents the earliest chance to win its first silverware since ?2020.
The club certainly began as if it was determined to book a date at Wembley ?and took ?the lead after seven minutes with the kind of goal that has become its trademark this season.
Declan Rice swung in a corner, and with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and his defenders struggling, White had space to head down and into the net.
Chelsea huffed and puffed in response but did not look like a threat and found itself in real trouble shortly after the break as big-money summer signing Gyokores netted for just the second time in his last 11 appearances.
Sanchez fumbled White¡¯s low cross, and the ball squirmed free for ?the ?Swede to tap in.
Rosenior reacted by sending on Garnacho, and he made an immediate impact as Pedro Neto¡¯s cross reached him beyond the far post, and he steadied ?himself before firing in from an angle. Chelsea was re-energized, but Arsenal picked it off in the 71st minute with Gyokores this time turning provider with a ball inside to Zubimendi, who showed great composure before sending a rasping shot past Sanchez.
That looked ?as if it knocked the stuffing out of the Blues, but Garnacho remained lively and when the ball dropped to him on the edge of the area he bounced a shot through a crowd.
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