Chelsea player ratings vs Arsenal: Liam Rosenior's subs fail to make impact

Chelsea have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup after a 1-0 defeat in the second leg of the semi-final to Arsenal, who go through to the final with a 4-2 aggregate.

Blues head coach Liam Rosenior prepared some surprises for the second leg match, as he deployed a back-three system at the expense of his wingers.

Joao Pedro and Liam Delap were used as a striker pair up front, but the latter spent a lot of time operating on the right flank for Chelsea.

The traffic in midfield limited the chances for both sides in the first half, as they had only three shot attempts each before the break.

The game became more open after Rosenior unleashed Estevao and Cole Palmer at the hour mark, as Chelsea returned to a back-four structure in search of a goal they needed to level the aggregate.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, the hosts defended really well, limiting them to mostly long-range attempts.

In the end, the desperate Chelsea side conceded a late goal by former Blue Kai Havertz in the stoppage time.

Our journey in the Carabao Cup comes to an end. #CFC | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/1Hfzs9rAQL
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 3, 2026

There would be questions whether Rosenior should have taken more risks in the first half, instead of waiting for the final 30 minutes to bring more attackers on.

Chelsea created just one big chance throughout the game compared to Arsenal's two, which is disappointing, considering they knew they had to overcome the first-leg deficit.

Here are the Chelsea player ratings vs Arsenal, according to SofaScore.

Starting XI

Robert Sanchez: 6.5

Wesley Fofana: 6.6

Trevoh Chalobah: 6.7

Jorrel Hato: 6.8

Malo Gusto: 7.1

Moises Caicedo: 7.1

Andrey Santos: 7.1

Enzo Fernandez: 7.4

Marc Cucurella: 7.0

Liam Delap: 6.1

Joao Pedro: 6.3

Substitutes

Cole Palmer: 6.4

Estevao: 6.1

Aleajandro Garnacho: 6.4

Josh Acheampong: 6.3