Chelsea were no 'wimps' against Arsenal - Liam Rosenior's calculated Carabao Cup gamble simply didn't come off

The first thing to bear in mind is that, regardless of the one-goal deficit in the tie before the second leg kicked-off, Arsenal are almost unbeatable at home, suffering just a single defeat all season at the Emirates so far at the hands of Manchester United last month. Even then, United required two wonderful goals to finally see off their relentless hosts.

That was clearly something that Rosenior was conscious off and wanted to respect, setting up in an unusual 5-2-3 shape to stay in the tie in the first half before rolling the dice later on. At half-time, with the game goalless, you could hardly argue that that strategy wasn't working - even if Chelsea hadn't laid a glove on their hosts.

With his side still in the tie at the hour mark, the Blues boss made what were seemingly pre-planned substitutions as he threw on key attacking players Cole Palmer and Estevao Willian for the final 30 minutes, but on this occasion neither could come up with a moment of inspiration. And while Chelsea were improved as a whole in the second 45, they could not find a way to carve out a chance to level the tie against one of the best defences around.

Although it was disappointing that they failed to trouble Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Arsenal goal despite having 14 shots, generating an xG of just 0.68, this largely felt like a case of a wearied side coming up against a stronger opponent who were able to keep them at bay. Had one of their many long-range efforts flown in, the reaction would, of course, be very different.

Some pundits, though, took serious issue with the nature of the display - with former Arsenal favourite Merson particularly outspoken. "I am numb, I am flabbergasted," he bleated at full-time, as the cameras panned to Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana in tears. "I can't believe what I have just watched. I honestly can't believe what I have just watched.

"This is Chelsea Football Club. They have got international football players, a World Cup winner. They have got players all over... This is not a bottom four or five team, they have just come here... They should be crying because they never had a go.

"I am lost for words, I cannot believe what's just happened. They have gone out with an absolute wimp [sic] in the semi-final of a big competition. If it worked it was great, but if it hasn't worked, you can't gamble like that. Have a go and go out in a blaze of glory. Don't go out like that."

He added: "They played in second gear. This is the semi-final of a cup. Chelsea have got the players to mix it with Arsenal, and they didn't have a go."

To his credit, Rosenior stood up for himself and defended his pragmatism in his post-match press conference, underlining that his tactical preparations for a match away at Arsenal - arguably the best team in Europe at the moment - had to be far more nuanced than simply throwing the kitchen sink at them on account of a one-goal deficit.

"I've been a pundit, it's easy. It's easy in hindsight," he said in response to Merson's comments. "In hindsight, so if I go and attack the game, press really high, and we concede two goals early, everyone says 'what's he doing?!' That's the reality of my job.

"The reality of my job is if you lose games, you'll be criticised. If you win, you're a genius. It's normally somewhere in between that."

The travelling fans clearly backed the 41-year-old's approach, giving him and his players a long applause in a show of appreciation at full-time. You can hardly argue that Rosenior hasn't earned the right to try something different after winning six of his eight games in charge to date.

Expanding on his failed plan in his press conference, Rosenior added: "There are aspects of our game today that I'm very happy with, but I'm here with the team. You could see how devastated the lads were after the game for what they put in. We believed we could come here and turn it around. In terms of the control and domination we had in the second half, there were moments in the second half I thought it was there for us. We just didn't take it.

"I felt that the psychological aspect of the tie was very important as well, and I felt in the stadium as well. Sixty minutes, I bring on Cole and Estevao and the game opens up and we have moments in and around the box. I think there was a feeling in the stadium that this tie could turn.

"We didn't achieve what we wanted to, but it's not about gameplans, it's about results."

Chelsea's cause certainly wasn't helped by the fact that a clutch of key men were missing from their starting line-up. As we've touched upon, Rosenior was only able to call upon Palmer and Estevao from the bench - two players who undoubtedly would have started in normal circumstances. The former is still wrangling with a chronic groin issue and is unable to play three times per week, while the latter had only just arrived back from Brazil having been granted compassionate leave for a personal matter.

Meanwhile, Reece James and Pedro Neto - two more guaranteed starters - were absent entirely as a precaution having both picked up what Rosenior described as minor injuries.

"We've had a lot to contend with the last couple of days, a couple of fitness tests this morning," the head coach said afterwards. "They [James and Neto] were just in too much pain for tonight. They're giving everything. They would always put their hand up to play.

"Estevao [Willian], I have to say, for him, 18 years old, to go through something very personal for him, to fly to Brazil and fly back in two days to make sure he could play in this game, says everything about the character and spirit I want for this team. And in terms of Cole [Palmer], Cole gave us an incredible 90-minute performance, the reason we fought back against West Ham. We have to take care of him. He's a gem. We have to take care of him and make sure he's right for the whole season."

He added: "The availability of your players always affects your system. The opposition system, where you are in terms of your fitness levels, in terms of the intensity that we've put into games."

There was certainly a sense that Chelsea's recent exploits and brutal schedule finally caught up with them at the inopportune moment on Tuesday. The return leg in north London came just three days after the Blues pushed themselves to the limit to snatch a last-ditch comeback win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge, and less than a week removed from the remarkable late turnaround in Naples that secured a Champions League last-16 place.

Indeed, the Blues have had a match every three or four days since the turn of the year, with their only defeats under Rosenior coming in each leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final loss to Arsenal

"I have to give the players so much credit. Our schedule has been incredible," the head coach said. "So for them, to put in the energy, the fight, the spirit was there. But unfortunately for us, we didn't quite have the quality moments that we did get into the final four many times in the second half, but we didn't take advantage of those moments."

He continued: "Against West Ham we ran until the 97th minute trying to get ourselves back from 2-0 down. The emotions of Napoli. You take all of these things into account to give you the best chance to try and win a game of football."

With all of those mitigating factors in mind, there was certainly no shame in the nature of the nature of the fairly narrow defeat to Arsenal over two legs - a side currently considered to be vastly superior. Chelsea came up against a better, fitter, more physical team and lost, ultimately paying the price for conceding three times at home in the first leg before a mini fightback led by Alejandro Garnacho.

Granted, they should have created more clear-cut chances at the Emirates having succeeded in their plan to stifle their opponents for 96 minutes, albeit the Gunners didn't pose much of a threat themselves. However, if your key attacking players aren't fit and firing on the night then your chances will always be severely diminished against one of the best defences around.

For his part, Rosenior is determined to ensure this defeat doesn't have any lasting effects. "Obviously, losing the game is not what we wanted. I've been in for less than a month. We've had eight games in that month. So, for the players, firstly, to put the performances in that they've done, to show me the learning and, by the way, the spirit, the togetherness, the fight in the team was there. There's a lot of encouraging signs. Now I need to see what we look like after a setback. We need to react positively."

Although a smash-and-grab moment to win the game or take it to penalties never materialised, Chelsea and Rosenior were one scruffy goal away from their gameplan being universally lauded, rather than torn to shreds by 'flabbergasted' pundits. They now have a favourable run of fixtures to focus on (Wolves, Leeds, Hull City and Burnley, with ample rest in between) before returning to the Emirates in better shape in early March in the Premier League.

Click here to read article