Kevin Whitcher
There is often an element of good fortune in successful cup runs and Arsenal enjoyed a fair dollop of Lady Luck last night. Both the Gunners’ goals came as a result of deflections (a double deflection in the case of the first), Antonio Rudiger involved on both occasions. And then there was the moment in the second half that Eden Hazard, clean through with just the keeper to beat, inexplicably fell over.
For all that, it was a hugely enjoyable victory. There is an element amongst the Chelsea support that is highly distasteful and I always look forward to their departure from the area after their visits to north London, and it was good not to suffer their goading after the game. Many will feel the Arsenal were due the rub of the green after some dubious decisions in recent weeks have gone against them. The first half saw Chelsea largely dominate, and took the lead through a Hazard finish as the defence was sliced apart. A Nacho Monreal header from a corner that took the aforementioned double deflection leveled the scores and the home side were back in the game. The away goals rule would have counted against them, but in this competition the fact that it does not come into consideration until after extra time has been played meant there was plenty of time.
The game seemed more open than the first leg, although Arsenal’s approach was similar. That Chelsea were playing Hazard up front instead of Morata with Willian and Pedro either side meant they offered greater threat, although most of the time, some dogged defending meant they did not get much joy. The removal of William through injury helped Arsenal’s cause as replacement Ross Barkley looked understandably rusty and found it difficult to blend in seamlessly with his new team-mates.
In the second half, lo and behold, a tactical switch from Arsene Wenger! After having played a 4-2-3-1 formation in the first half, Mohammed Elneny dropped deeper to effectively become the third centre back, and Arsenal looked more solid. They grew into the game more and took the lead when Alexandre Lacazette’s low cross deflected off Rudiger to present Granit Xhaka the opportunity to toe poke the ball past Caballero in the Chelsea goal.
In spite of Alex Iwobi firing a gilt-edged chance to sooth everyone’s nerves at the keeper’s legs with the goal gaping, two goals proved enough. Chelsea huffed and puffed, but with few clear cut chances. It does seem that Arsenal have become a bit of a hoodoo team for Antonio Conte, having only managed to beat them once in eight meetings, three of them at Stamford Bridge and two at Wembley.
So an uplift after a few weeks in which we have seen a very mixed bunch of displays from this Arsenal side, culminating in the nadirs of defeats away at Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth. And ironic that a competition Arsene Wenger places so little priority in should become a beacon of hope in what has been a dog of a season so far. Arsenal will now face Manchester City twice in the space of five days, both times in London. Arsene Wenger has won three league titles and seven FA Cups in his tenure at the club, but never the League Cup. He’s lost two finals – once because of playing a weakened team in 2007, the other time due to a cock-up between Koscielny and Szczesny. Third time lucky?
One thing that brought back memories of last season. With the chance of winning a trophy, the players performed with greater determination and desire than we see in the Premier League. It was a similar case in the FA Cup semi-final and final last season. Perhaps a reminder of the final days of George Graham when Arsenal fell short in the league, but managed to turn it on in the cups. The players have it in them, but only give it their maximum when they feel motivated. How well the team perform against relegation fodder Swansea next Tuesday evening will be enlightening.
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