Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Chelsea: Arteta Scratches Six-Year Itch

Kai Havertz haunted his former club to send Arsenal to the Carabao Cup final.

It was—eventually—a joyous night for Arsenal | Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

LONDON — Arsenal secured their first appearance in a final since 2020 with a 1–0 win at home to Chelsea in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.

Three weeks on from the entertaining 3–2 win for the visitors at Stamford Bridge in the first half of the tie, it was a game of defiantly little drama in N5 until Kai Havertz, one of several former Chelsea players on Arsenal’s books, rounded David Sánchez in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time.

Nevertheless, it was still a cathartic night for Mikel Arteta. Six years on from outwitting Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in an empty Wembley Stadium, the Basque boss finally won his first semi-final tie in front of fans.

There had been heartbreak at this stage of the competition and in the Champions League last season but, as Arteta himself warned heading into this tie: “Football gives you another chance.”

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One Thing We Can’t Ignore

Declan Rice (left) and Gabriel Martinelli played in a defiant non-game. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

“It’s very dangerous to shout,” the legendary Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby used to say, “because in my profession every 24 hours can make you a fool.” The day before Arsenal’s Carabao Cup semi-final, Arteta made it very clear that he considered his club to be “the most exciting team in Europe.” That prediction fell spectacularly flat 24 hours later—not that Arteta would much care.

Tuesday’s contest was so aggressively devoid of obvious excitement it seemed deliberate, as though the 22 players on the pitch were acting out some sort of high-concept art piece to shine a light on how little they could do and still be watched by 60,000 fans on a rain-soaked winter night in north London.

Before Havertz finished off a late breakaway which began at a Chelsea corner, there were a couple of long-range shots which produced the sort of overly acrobatic saves which so infuriate co-commentators, while the hulking midfields exchanged thumping tackles. Liam Rosenior even took his glasses off at one point.

Chelsea did their best to make it a spectacle—they were the ones who came into the contest with a one-goal deficit after all. Rosenior barked instructions from the sodden touchline, switching formations, tossing on Cole Palmer and Estêvão in an attempt to make something, anything, happen. But all to no avail—just as Arteta had seemingly intended.

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Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Chelsea (4-3-3)

William Saliba tried to get his point across on Tuesday. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga—7.9: Had precious little to do but did it well.

RB: Jurriën Timber—7.2: Found himself wandering into the crowded midfield to try and get involved in the contest. Didn’t have great success.

CB: William Saliba—7.2: Presented with the unusual task of having two strikers to mark, Saliba took a more front-footed approach to dealing with João Pedro, making sure he was as close and uncomfortable as a hair shirt.

CB: Gabriel—7.7: Played with the authority and foresight of someone who had the benefit of a three-second delay.

LB: Piero Hincapié—7.8: Fired off one of the few shots of the first half so must go down as a hero for fans just hoping to feel something.

CM: Eberechi Eze—6.7: Perennially appears to be playing within himself, constantly inhibited by some invisible force.

CM: Martín Zubimendi—7.0: More often than not Zubimendi turned down the game’s riskier passes in favour of possession consolidation. Given what happened on his last appearance at the Emirates perhaps some caution was to be expected.

CM: Declan Rice—7.7: Up against the side which released him as a 14-year-old, Rice crashed about the pitch with even more energy than usual.

RW: Noni Madueke—6.2: Locked in a game of cat and mouse with Marc Cucurella, who was constantly caught in two minds as to whether he should press Madueke or jump forward to Timber. Unfortunately, Arsenal’s winger seemed to find himself trapped in this void of uncertainty, offering little.

ST: Viktor Gyökeres—6.6: Took 18 and a half minutes to have his first touch of the match and had to wait until the second half before he completed his one and only pass of the contest. Did well to even get a rating.

LW: Gabriel Martinelli—6.5: Constantly dropping off the frontline to create space to dart into. Left Malo Gusto pirouetting into the night on a number of occasions

SUB: Kai Havertz (69’ for Gyökeres)—7.3: Anything of note would have represented an improvement upon the XI starters and Havertz delivered.

SUB: Leandro Trossard (69’ for Madueke)—N/A

Subs not used: David Raya (GK), Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori, Christian Nørgaard, Gabriei Jesus.

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What The Ratings Tell Us

Viktor Gyökeres had another lacklustre performance. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

• That Kepa Arrizabalaga, a goalkeeper who had just two tame saves to make throughout, finished with the highest rating of all players involved, tells you everything you need to know about this match.
• Viktor Gyökeres has routinely struggled when faced with two centre backs. Unsurprisingly, he offered little more up against three defenders, bullocking around with a familiar sense of enthusiasm and aimlessness. Arteta came into the contest hailing Gyökeres’s “all-round play.” Tuesday’s performance, with its 10 touches and one blocked shot, was impressive in how little play of any kind was involved.
• How long can Eberechi Eze dine off his derby day hat-trick for? As long as Arsenal keep winning appears to be the answer.

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The Numbers That Explain Arsenal’s Drab Performance

Mikel Arteta led Arsenal to the Carabao Cup final. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

• The two teams combined for more fouls (13) than touches in the opposition box (12) in a first half best not committed to print.
• Rosenior switched to a back-three for Tuesday’s cup tie. While it allowed Chelsea to press aggressively across Arsenal’s front three, they maintained numerical equivalence in midfield with a three behind the strike duo of João Pedro and Liam Delap. This spun an intricate tactical web over the middle of the pitch—which was congested further by both sides pushing the backline up the field when out of possession. In turn, this ensured that the most dangerous passages of play came from blunt long balls over the top of this delicate mess.
• Arsenal were limited to just 0.1 xG from set pieces. They only had two corners, but Chelsea defended both intriguingly, sending three players onto the halfway line to empty the crowd which the Gunners like to form in the six-yard box.

Statistic	Arsenal	Chelsea
Possession	44%	56%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.91	0.68
Total Shots	5	14
Shots on Target	2	2
Big Chances	2	1
Passing Accuracy	85%	90%
Fouls Committed	14	12
Corners	2	5

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