Liam Rosenior Gives Two Reasons Why Scathing Chelsea Criticism Is Wrong
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior justified his overtly defensive approach against Arsenal in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final defeat by pointing to the late absence of two key players and generally dismissing the very concept of hindsight punditry.
As Rosenior subsequently admitted, the Blues deliberately sat back to absorb pressure for the first hour before turning the tie into a 30-minute blitz. Chelsea duly withstood the decided lack of onslaught from their hosts but were unable to find the breakthrough, forcing Kepa Arrizabalaga into just a pair of comfortable saves.
This unexpected approach was fiercely lambasted by numerous pundits who pointed out that Chelsea came into the second leg trailing on aggregate after a 3–2 reverse at Stamford Bridge three weeks earlier. In the end, it was Arsenal who found the net in a game which never really deserved a goal, with former Chelsea record signing Kai Havertz slipping in the dagger in stoppage time.
In the aftermath of the defeat—just the second Rosenior has suffered in eight games—the backlash was abundant.
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Chelsea ‘Go Out With a Whimper’
Liam Rosenior may have found a way to weaken Arsenal's threat from corners, but the Gunners will always find a way through in the end. pic.twitter.com/aSN9294Yq4
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) February 3, 2026
“I’m flabbergasted,” Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson gasped. “I can’t believe what I’ve just watched. Chelsea aren’t a bottom-five team. They have World Cup winners.
“[Wesley] Fofana is crying. He should be crying because they never had a go. They’ve gone out with a whimper in a semi-final. It hasn’t worked. Go out in a blaze of glory, don’t go out like that.”
“They played in second gear. This is the semi-final of a cup,” the former Arsenal star lamented.
Merson’s fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp made a similar point. “If you’d have turned up today and not known the score you’d have thought that Chelsea were winning, the way they were playing the game with six at the back, playing cagey and trying to hit on the counter-attack if possible,” the ex-Liverpool midfielder fretted. “It’s a semi-final, you’ve got to throw punches.”
Cole Palmer and Estêvão were brought off the bench for the final half-hour yet failed to make an impact. Redknapp argued that Alejandro Garnacho delivered a detrimental contribution. “The last two or three minutes of that game were a good example of how Chelsea had no idea,” he sighed. “Garnacho came on for 15 or 20 minutes. He passed the ball backwards and sideways every time he got it.”
Rosenior: It’s Easy to Be a Pundit
This criticism was put to Rosenior in his post-match press conference and inspired a snigger. “I’ve been a pundit, it’s easy in hindsight,” he snapped back. “If I go and attack the game and press really high, people will ask what I am doing.
“You can come away from home, press all over the pitch, go man to man and you could go 2–0 up or you could go 2–0 down. I felt that the psychological aspect of the tie was very important as well. 60 minutes, I bring on Cole [Palmer] and Estêvão and the game opens up and we have moments in and around the box.”
“The reality of my job,” Rosenior sagely concluded, “is if you lose games, you’ll be criticised. If you win, you’re a genius. It’s normally somewhere in between, I think.”
Both Legs of Carabao Cup Semi-Final Littered With Issues for Chelsea
Rosenior was keen to point out that his captain Reece James and first-choice winger Pedro Neto both failed late fitness tests, forcing him to only name his unusual lineup on the afternoon of the match in question, rather than the day before as he prefers.
The former Strasbourg boss intimated that these absentees forced him into a back-three system, spearheaded by João Pedro who had Liam Delap awkwardly stationed on the right wing.
When the topic of the first leg was raised, Rosenior reiterated the fact that his team had been suffering from a virus after being in his position for just four days.
“It’s not an excuse, it’s the reality.”
Rosenior’s Tactics Defended by Arsenal
For all the opprobrium washing his way, Rosenior was defended by his Arsenal counterpart. Mikel Arteta hailed Chelsea as “a really good coached” team which pushed his side to the limit.
“We knew that we were going to have to play a lot of games within that game,“ Arteta warned. “Especially because right from the beginning they changed their setup and they played in a different way.”
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was similarly fulsome in his praise. “Credit to Chelsea to be fair,” the former Blues academy prospect told ITV. “Since their new manager has come in, they’ve been really, really good.
“They changed the formation tonight and gave us problems. On another night, they could have scored, but credit where it is due, our defence was incredible.”
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