Martín Zubimendi had as much time as he wanted against the team forever building for tomorrow. Taking a flick from Viktor Gyökeres in his stride, the Arsenal midfielder danced into the area, weighed up whether to shoot and thought better of it. Instead there was a sauntering move away from Andrey Santos, a feint to throw Wesley Fofana and then, only when Zubimendi had decided he was ready, was there the calm to beat Robert Sánchez and leave Chelsea with a mountain to climb in this Carabao Cup semi-final.
It was swaggering from Zubimendi. In that moment it was Arsenal demonstrating why they are so far ahead of this occasionally thrilling but often baffling Chelsea side, who have faint hope of a turnaround after battling to a defeat that was 3-2 going on 4-0. Mikel Arteta’s side had, after all, done the dirty stuff. The first goal came from a corner, the second from Sánchez’s error, but the third was different. It was silky from Arsenal, the ball pinging between Mikel Merino and Gyökeres before Zubimendi applied the graceful finishing touch, and a reminder that they are top of the Premier League because they perform both sides of the game.
Chelsea are not there yet. They occupy a different, stranger space. Their youngsters are developing but not fast enough to satisfy a lot of supporters. It is a curious existence. There were more dissenting chants from the home fans towards the club’s ownership and, for all that there were times when Estêvão Willian’s brilliance had Arsenal worried, there really is no explanation for how a club can spend as much as Chelsea and still end up relying on a goalkeeper as skittish as Sánchez.
This is partly why supporters have been grumbling since Enzo Maresca’s messy departure. They see the expenditure but question the level of ambition. When will the project click? Arsenal are built to win now. They have purpose, leaders, a clear sense of direction. Chelsea, meanwhile, were booed off at half-time in the new head coach’s first home game.
There was no big entrance from Liam Rosenior before kick-off at Stamford Bridge. Then again, perhaps it was self-awareness. It was hard not to wonder when the Arsenal fans greeted Ben White’s opener, scored when Sánchez flapped at an early cross from Declan Rice, by singing “you’re getting sacked in the morning” at Rosenior.
The 41-year-old, of course, has a six-and-a-half year deal. The first thing you notice about Rosenior’s touchline demeanour is there is a lot of encouraging, polite clapping when his players do a bit of closing down. The vibes are nothing but positive. At some point, though, there will have to be some ruthlessness. Rosenior has to accept that Chelsea need a better No 1 than Sánchez if they are to challenge Arsenal for major honours.
Not that it was solely a night of negatives for Chelsea. Estêvão Willian, only 18, was exceptional against Jurriën Timber. It threatened to get ugly when Gyökeres made it 2-0 early in the second half, tapping in from a yard after Chelsea naively failed to reset at a throw-in before Sánchez lost a cross from White, and when Zubimendi made it 3-1 with 19 minutes left. Instead of lying down, though, Chelsea fought. Rosenior’s tweaks made a difference.
Chelsea improved when Alejandro Garnacho, who plundered two messy goals, came on for the ineffective Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto shifted into the middle and João Pedro went up front. The only problem, though, is they had left themselves with so much to do after being outmuscled and outclassed by Arsenal for much of the contest.
Arsenal went strong, Kepa Arrizabalaga for David Raya in goal the only hint of rotation from Arteta. Chelsea were depleted. Cole Palmer, Malo Gusto and Reece James were injured, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens fell ill on the day of the game and Moisés Caicedo was suspended.
It exposed Chelsea’s lack of depth. Arsenal’s bench was stacked. Chelsea were callow. Guiu, only 20, looked tiny against William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães. Santos, a 21-year-old midfielder, struggled with Arsenal’s physicality in midfield.
At the same time Rosenior could take heart from elements of the performance. Chelsea were brave enough to meet the Arsenal press by repeatedly trying high-wire intricate goal-kick routines. There were flashes of enterprising play. There were also moments that captured the gulf between the sides; moments when Chelsea’s forwards thought they had space, only for Arsenal to race back into shape and crowd out the man on the ball.
Arsenal blocked the routes to goal. Their frustration is there was only one goal in it at full time. Rosenior, though, barely reacted when Garnacho scored his first. Maybe he knew what was coming. Zubimendi’s impudence was on the way and Arsenal will back themselves to finish the job in the second leg.
