3 standout players as Arsenal dump Chelsea out of the Carabao Cup

Their Carabao Cup tie hung in the balance and heavy rainfall made for trench-like conditions in north London; for Arsenal and Chelsea, this would be war.   

You need leaders to step up at those times and Mikel Arteta got exactly that. To a man, they stood up tall against the Blues’ challenge, rarely giving them a sight of goal even as the clock ticked into added time.

3 standout players from Arsenal’s Carabao Cup semi-final triumph over Chelsea

It was not a thriller, but the onus had always been on Chelsea to chase the game and their inability to do so left the Gunners free to try see this match out – home fans know that no team can pull off that feat quite like Arteta’s troops.

Here are three standout players from this semi-final win.    

1. Gabriel

Few fit the ‘leader’ tag like Gabriel.

From the lineups and aggregate score before kick off, it looked set up for an ‘attack vs defence’ clash here with Arsenal intent on holding onto what they had.  

That only happened towards the end (the Blues were strangely passive all match) but, when it came, they did stay firm and Gabriel formed a big part of it. He remained calm when passing from the back – composure which did not exude from others (Kepa, anyone?) – and he never got exposed despite the best efforts of Joao Pedro to drag him up the pitch.

Furthermore, his ball over the top to Gabriel Martinelli was the best chance that Arsenal created in the first half; his compatriot should have done better. He also nearly scored himself only for a great block from Marc Cucurella.

Chelsea failed to put Gabriel under much duress all night but, even so, he dealt well with what they did offer and you cannot ask for more.  

2. Declan Rice

Another game, another day when Declan Rice makes it onto this ‘Standouts’ list.

He could have produced better; his attempts to switch the play, so often brilliant, were quite bad and there was little sign of him being the one to unpick this big Chelsea backline. In his defence, a 5-4-1 formation does not lend itself to penetration.

But the game developed into a real slugfest and it was in those defensive moments that Rice came to the fore. The £105m man snapped into tackles, made vital interceptions and booted the ball away as things grew chaotic in the Arsenal box, while he still came away from the match with an assist for the Kai Havertz goal.

For all the talk of nerves, Rice seems like a player born for the occasion and he more than played his part on Tuesday – indeed, throughout the campaign – in getting the Gunners to their first final in six years.

3. Jurrien Timber

Jurrien Timber completes a set that, in truth, could be a MOTM shortlist for almost any Arsenal game this year.

Again, it was not his finest hour – he struggled to push up the pitch in the first half and had a fight on his hands with Marc Cucurella. It made life that bit more difficult for Noni Madueke when he tried to steal a march on the Chelsea defence.

But he, too, grew into the game, producing a strong defensive display overall as the Blues became a bit desperate late on. The highlight of his evening came at that point when he left Estevao for dead on the wing and then won Arsenal a timely free kick.

That reliability is no mean feat given the threat Estevao poses as well as the tiredness Timber must be feeling; he rarely gets a rest. Perhaps White can share the load with him over the coming weeks and have the Dutchman fit for Wembley.

Reece James could never.