Arsenal and Chelsea played out a relatively dull second-leg of the EFL Cup semi-final as the Gunners kept their quadruple hopes alive.
Mikel Arteta was forced into changes as both Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard were ruled out through injury. In the end, Kai Havertz’s late, late winner was enough to see it through,
In the end, it was a professional performance from the Gunners. Despite a lack of clear chances and another underwhelming effort from their attackers, they leaned on their strengths in defence to see things through.
Tell us who Arsenal’s most disappointing performer was against Chelsea 🧐
With Arsenal now into their first final of the season, Mikel Arteta can concentrate on the other tournaments before the big day at Wembley.
Still, in this particular performance against Chelsea, there were things to take for Arteta and we’ve looked at THREE key facets here.
Arsenal are maturing as a team
In days gone by, we might have seen an Arsenal side go all out to kill this tie off and get an early goal.
However, this time, we saw Arsenal do what they needed to do and that was to get over the line. Yes, it wasn’t pretty at times and was borderline frustrating to watch as a viewer.
But Arsenal’s big strength has been defending and they know it. On the day, Chelsea didn’t have enough to break down the stubborn back four we’ve become accustomed to seeing and now, it’s time to go and win a trophy.
Viktor Gyokeres has to do more
We seem to discuss Viktor Gyokeres every other week but tonight was one of those performances that really made you wonder what he’s offering.
He had only 10 touches and zero shots on goal. Put simply, that is not good enough for a striker the club have paid so much money for.
It will be interesting to see how Mikel Arteta manages Gyokeres between now and the end of the season.
Kai Havertz has made a roaring return to the team and come the final at Wembley, it will be interesting to see if Arteta keeps faith with the big Swede.
😬 Use ONE WORD to summarise Viktor Gyokeres showing during Arsenal vs Chelsea…
Arsenal need Bukayo Saka back quickly
While Arsenal did enough and relied on the defence to get the job done, the lack of creativity in the final third remains a worry for the Gunners.
With Bukayo Saka out injured for now, the Gunners really need him back ASAP.
While the likes of Noni Madueke can fill in where needed and produce on occasion, Saka’s consistency and proven ability in big moments was missing for the Gunners.
Hopefully, Saka’s absence is short-lived. Once he is back, he comes immediately back into the starting XI.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
