Chelsea 2–3 Arsenal: Injury-hit Blues edged out despite Garnacho brace as Palmer and James remain sidelined
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Chelsea fell to defeat at home to Arsenal in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie despite a heroic effort from Alejandro Garnacho off the Blues' bench.
Liam Rosenior was down to bare bones with Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens, Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia, Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo and Reece James all unavailable.
With the Blues fielding a depleted starting XI, things started in the worst possible manner, with Arsenal ahead after just seven minutes.
Ben White headed the visitors into an early lead, with Robert Sanchez at fault when attempting to claim a corner.
The second half saw things go from bad to worse for Rosenior's men, with Sanchez at fault once again as Viktor Gyokeres was gifted a goal.
Super sub Alejandro Garnacho netted either side of a Martin Zubimendi strike to see Chelsea head into the second leg at the Emirates a goal behind.
With Caicedo suspended, Rosenior trusted his former Strasbourg midfielder Andrey Santos alongside Enzo Fernandez in midfield, while Joao Pedro was deployed as a number 10.
The opening came in typical Arsenal fashion with Mikel Arteta's side scoring a goal from a set piece for the 24th time this season. Sanchez came to meet a corner but missed the ball, leaving White to head into an open net to give the Gunners an early lead.
The first half saw Chelsea take control, with Arsenal sitting back and looking to hit the Blues on the counter-attack. Enzo Fernandez tested former Blue Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Arsenal goal, but his strike was comfortable for the Spaniard, while Estevao was causing problems down the right.
The visitors held on to take a one-goal lead into the second half, and they soon added to this after the restart. Sanchez was at fault again, failing to collect a low White cross towards him, with Gyokeres able to pounce and put the ball into an open net to double Arsenal's lead.
This led to changes from Rosenior, with the introduction of Garnacho proving pivotal in the tie as the Argentine pulled one back from Chelsea, bringing down a Pedro Neto cross before firing in at the near post.
However, Arsenal soon restored their two-goal lead through Zubimendi, who took a touch in the Blues' box before dancing past a couple of defenders to fire past Sanchez on the 70th minute.
With Arsenal in full control, Sanchez did brilliantly to deny Gabriel Martinelli with a fantastic save with his feet, preventing the Gunners from making it 4-1.
Into the closing minutes, Garnacho netted his second, a fantastic strike after the ball fell to him within the Arsenal box.
The Blues return to Premier League action this weekend, taking on Brentford at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Rosenior's men play the return leg at the Emirates on Februray 3rd, with the head coach hoping to have some momentum when they travel to north London.
