The second game of the Carabao Cup semi-final ties is a showstopper, with the two biggest clubs in London set to face off in the penultimate stage of the first piece of silverware up for grabs this season.
Those two sides are, of course, bitter rivals, with Chelsea from stunning south-west London and Arsenal slightly further north on the Piccadilly line looking to make the trip to Stamford Bridge.
With this being such a big rivalry and match-up, we wanted to give it its own preview heading into the first round of the tie.
How Will Liam Rosenior Deploy His Chelsea Side?
Chelsea have been through some massive changes over the past few weeks, and the biggest of them all came with Enzo Maresca stepping down as Chelsea manager and the ownership appointing their sister club’s gaffer, Liam Rosenior.
The former Strasbourg manager is a real leader of men and is generally able to get the best out of his players from an intensity and energy standpoint. However, what he also does is deploy a super aggressive style of high pressing and building out from the back at pace. There were similar ideas in Maresca’s system, however the players never seemed to fly around in counter-press situations like they do under Rosenior.
For him, in just his second game in charge and having only been in training for around a week, the question will be whether he has had enough time and repetitions to make a real change at the Blues, who were floundering under Maresca in the league. With Arsenal and their play style, this represents the biggest test possible in English football.
Do Arsenal And Mikel Arteta Continue To Dominate?
For the Gunners, this season has gone about as swimmingly as any fan could have imagined. Their team sits well and truly in the top spot to win the Premier League and is doing so in rather convincing fashion on the park. In all other competitions, they have carried that same form, looking like a strong chance to continue progressing through the Champions League group stage and, of course, having reached the semi-final of the Carabao Cup.
The key difference for the Gunners this year is that it seems they have finally found a core group of not only stars but also role players, giving themselves an incredibly high floor in terms of performance levels. They have that core of Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel, who are able to dictate games at the highest level, while also receiving support from the likes of Leandro Trossard, David Raya and Jurrien Timber, really rounding out their squad depth.
For them, the biggest worry will be the question marks surrounding how Chelsea might look under their new head coach and the possibility that there could be some kind of manager bounce coming to fruition for the Blues.
Our Same Game Multi
- Declan Rice To Have 1+ Shot @ $1.62
- Enzo Fernandez To Have 1+ Shot @ $1.32
- Total Goals Under 2.5 @ $1.85
- Chelsea Double Chance @ $1.62
To start with, I wanted to discuss some of the most high-profile names on the park in this one, with both teams’ midfield maestros in Declan Rice and Enzo Fernández. Both of these players are big-game performers who have had storied young careers and generally tend to live up to the moment. What they both have a knack for is scoring in these big moments, and they are not scared to take chances, which is why I could see them both taking shots in this one.
With that being the case, I expect both sides to be able to make some inroads, with Chelsea having had a soft defence over recent weeks, while also bringing the unpredictable nature of a new system that Arsenal will have to deal with. Throw in that both sides should be reasonably fit in the attacking areas of the park, along with the amount of flair on offer, and I think we could see a few goals fly into the back of the net in this one.
To sign this one off, I have faith in the Blues to put up a fight, as one thing that has rung true about them is that they tend to play well in the major showdowns. They are at home at Stamford Bridge, under the lights, with the home support behind them and a new gaffer, and I think they could get the job done.