Date: Wednesday 14th
January 2026
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
After
yet another spell under Blue co where Chelsea look more like a series of “The
Apprentice” than a football club, ending with Eghbali’s golden boy landing the
big chair, wasn’t it a relief to see us actually win a game for a change?
Chelsea sent Charlton
packing 5-1 in the FA Cup third round at the weekend to give Rosenior a dream
start – or at least, a start that didn’t end in tears and memes. He gave the
squad a proper shake-up, quite possibly thinking ahead to tonight, or perhaps
still working out who’s actually a footballer and who just wandered in from the
Stamford Bridge tour group. Still, you
can’t moan about five goals, even if it wasn’t altogether comfortable until the
subs came on.
But
now Rosenior finds himself in the big leagues as Arsenal roll up for the EFL
Cup semi-final first-leg. The Gunners just walloped Portsmouth 4-1 and have
racked up eight wins out of their last nine, apparently determined to prove
that consistency isn’t just something you find in gravy.
Arsenal haven’t left
Stamford Bridge with anything less than a smile since 2018, and with Arteta
leading his merry band of lookalikes, it’s like watching a conga line in red
shirts. Rosenior, on the other hand, gets his first real taste of Chelsea vs.
Arsenal – and as all true Blues know, this is where legends are made or at
least, where memes are born.
Strap
in, it could be a bumpy ride.
MANAGER’S VIEWS
Going into
today’s game, Liam Rosenior, says “We’ve been working tactically on Arsenal
from the moment I came into the club. Watched all of their games, analysed
every aspect of their game, including set plays, at which they’re very good. I
don’t know who’s calling them Set Piece FC. I’m definitely not. They’re a team
who are very good without the ball. They have a really clear idea in the way
they want to play with the ball, On top of that, they’re very well organised
with good delivery on set plays. That’s what you want to be if you want to be
successful.”
Arsenal
manager Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, says “Football gives you another chance. We
have been really consistent again in this competition and now we have to knock
another big team out to be in the final. That is the mission. Hopefully we have
learned from last year because it was painful, especially in the manner that
the games went, and the amount of chances we missed to go through. So this year
we want to be better and more efficient. When you get to this stage in the
competition, you get to the final, and you get it over the line and win it, it
brings a different kind of energy. It brings belief and the sense that the
objective is very, very close and that is a massive motivation for
everybody.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Chelsea, Romeo Lavia (thigh) and Levi Colwill (knee) are injured. Moises Caicedo is suspended for 1-match, unlike Mykhaylo Mudryk who is serving a long-term ban. Marc Cucurella is available again after his suspension but Malo Gusto and Cole Palmer are not expected to be fit, so Rosenior is likely to leave them out rather than have the medical staff on the bench for company.
For Arsenal, Piero Hincapie (thigh),
Riccardo Calafiori (muscle), Max Dowman (ankle), and Cristhian Mosquera (ankle)
are injured and William Saliba and Leandro Trossard are reported to be doubts. Kai
Havertz is available.
TEAMS
CHELSEA (Possible line-up): Jorgensen; Acheampong, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; James, Fernandez; Santos, Estevao, Neto; Delap
ARSENAL (Possible line-up): Kepa; Timber,
Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres,
Martinelli
LAST MEETING
Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal (30th
November 2025)
CURRENT FORM (ALL)
CHELSEA: DLDDLW
ARSENAL: WWWWDW
OTHER STUFF
- Chelsea have won four of their last five semi-final ties in the EFL
Cup
- Chelsea lost in the semi-final against Arsenal in 2017-18
- Chelsea have scored and conceded in seven straight games in all
competitions
- Arsenal lost in the 2021-22 semi-final to Liverpool and in last
season’s semi-final to Newcastle
- Arsenal have won 8 of their last 9 games in all competitions
- Arsenal are unbeaten in 8 games against Chelsea
PREDICTION
Sportsmole: Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal
