Arsenal will take a narrow advantage into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final after a frantic 3-2 first-leg win at Chelsea.
Goals from Ben White, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi saw the Gunners take victory at Stamford Bridge, but Alejandro Garnacho struck on two occasions after coming off the bench.
But Arsenal will have belief they are on track to reach Wembley, and end Mikel Arteta’s record of losing their last four two-legged semi-final ties on the spin.
Liam Rosenior’s first home game in charge of Chelsea ended in defeat, but he will have hope of a reversal in the second leg at the Emirates Stadium, which takes place in three weeks on Tuesday February 3.
Gyokeres strikes as Gunners take lead in tie
Viktor Gyokeres celebrates with team-mates after putting Arsenal 2-0 up against Chelsea in the first leg of Carabao Cup semi-final
Rosenior was greeted by warm applause before kick-off, but optimism of a good start vanished after seven minutes as White headed the opener from a trademark Declan Rice delivery from a corner.
Somewhat contentiously, there was a brief VAR check for offside, with Gyokeres potentially interefering on the line as the ball sailed past him. But while it took several minutes to disallow Antoine Semenyo’s goal for Man City in a similar incident in the other semi-final, this one was checked and cleared within seconds.
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Jamie Redknapp and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink discuss whether Viktor Gyokeres should have been flagged offside for Arsenal’s opener following Antoine Semenyo’s disallowed goal against Newcastle
Arsenal then took firm control of the tie on 49 minutes as Gyokeres bundled in from close range after Robert Sanchez failed to gather White’s cross and it spilled into the striker’s path for just his second goal since the start of November.
After the game he acknowledged the criticism in recent weeks for not having the right instincts in the box for a striker. “That’s what I need to do,” he told Sky Sports. “I can do it more often.”
Rosenior responded with immediate changes, and one of his substitutes, Garnacho, fired Chelsea back into the game after Pedro Neto’s cross landed at his feet at the far post just before the hour.
Zubimendi restored Arsenal’s two-goal advantage on 71 minutes as he slammed in after combining well with Gyokeres, but Garnacho responded again to give Chelsea hope heading into the second leg.
Watch all five goals from Stamford Bridge thriller
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The perfect start for Arsenal as Ben White gets on the end of Declan Rice’s corner to give them an early lead at Stamford Bridge.
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Gyokeres pounced on a mistake from the Chelsea keeper to double Arsenal’s lead
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Alejandro Garnacho scored minutes after being substituted on
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Martin Zubimendi scored Arsenal’s third against Chelsea
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Garnacho scored a second goal late on to give Chelsea hope going into the second leg
‘Arsenal will be kicking themselves’
Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp:
“The late goal has put a nice complexion on it from a Chelsea point of view and for Liam Rosenior.
“Arsenal will be kicking themselves. It could be dead and buried. But fair play to Chelsea they hung in there.”
