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2 hours ago
5
When the final whistle blew, you could sense the huge wave of relief that swept over this stadium.
Arsenal may not have been at all convincing against a Chelsea side who caused them the occasional problem but Mikel Arteta will not care one bit. After four successive semi-final defeats, Arsenal are on their way to Wembley at last. After the drama of the first leg at Stamford Bridge that saw Liam Rosenior’s side travel to north London needing to overturn a 3-2 deficit, this was a much more cagey affair that was eventually settled in injury time by substitute Kai Havertz against his former club.
Arsenal seemed content to keep Chelsea at arm’s length for most of the evening and rarely looked like extending their advantage. Yet having not won this competition since 1993 and after crashing out at the semi-final stage to Newcastle after a 4-0 defeat on aggregate last season, this was an occasion for Arteta and his team to savour.
A potential showdown in the final with title rivals Manchester City would only add to the sense of drama but they know they are within touching distance of a first trophy since winning the FA Cup in Arteta’s first season six years ago.
Rosenior sprang a surprise by leaving Cole Palmer on the bench and naming a back three for the first time, while there was no place for captain Reece James after he failed a fitness test. Arsenal were also without their skipper as Martin Ødegaard missed out with a minor muscle injury and Arteta decided against risking Bukayo Saka’s hip issue.
Other than former Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, the Premier League leaders went with virtually a full-strength side as Eberechi Eze was handed a rare start.
Not since 1987 when David Rocastle’s winner helped Arsenal come from behind against their north London rivals Tottenham has a team overturned a first-leg deficit in the semi-final of this competition after losing the first leg at home.
But with Arsenal playing in front of their fans for the first time since losing to Manchester United last weekend, Rosenior admitted beforehand that his side would try to play on any anxieties among the home supporters. Those would only have been heightened by an unconvincing first half performance that saw Arsenal struggle to deal with Chelsea’s switch of approach.
There was a raucous atmosphere at kick-off despite the miserable conditions and the visiting supporters wasted no time reminding their Arsenal counterparts that they have yet to match their successes in the Champions League.
Chelsea’s high-energy press seemed to unsettle the hosts and William Saliba gifted the first opportunity to Liam Delap with a poor piece of control inside his own area but his shot went well wide.
Arsenal scored from a corner early in the first leg in Rosenior’s first game in charge but Chelsea’s head coach had clearly been working on how to stop them as three attacking players were sent up field just as Declan Rice was about to deliver their first of the evening. Piero Hincapie’s header was deflected over by Wesley Fofana and it needed a full-stretch Robert Sánchez to save the Ecuador defender’s piledriver after Chelsea had failed to clear the second corner.
But Rosenior will have been encouraged by the way his side adapted to the unfamiliar formation as he patrolled the touchline in the rain. When Gabriel Martinelli finally found some space in the area, Malo Gusto was there to block his shot.
Chelsea’s best attempt of the half came just before the break when Enzo Fernández let fly from outside the area and Arrizabalaga was able to make a comfortable save. Arteta headed down the tunnel looking most concerned.
Arrizabalaga ’s flap at a corner at the start of the second half will not have done his nerves any good but Delap could not direct his effort on target from close range. Arteta earned himself a yellow card after remonstrating with the fourth official when João Pedro was fouled by Hincapie as temperatures briefly threatened to spill over.
Rosenior decided it was time to roll the dice on the hour mark and summoned Palmer and Estévâo from the bench as he switched to a back four. Suddenly they were much more of a threat as Marc Cucurella and the Brazilian teenager fired efforts wide of the target. Gusto was booked for diving after going down under pressure from Hincapie before Viktor Gyökeres was replaced by Havertz.
Gabriel had a golden opportunity to settle it for Arsenal 13 minutes from time when he connected with Hincapie’s cross but Cucurella was able to block with his head. Chelsea felt that they should have had a penalty when Palmer’s free-kick struck Havertz in the wall, even if replays showed the ball hit his shoulder.
Their best chance came when Wesley Fofana volleyed wide at the near post from the resulting corner, with Havertz making sure of Arsenal’s victory when he rounded Sánchez to seal their place in the final.
