Tuesday night promises to be a special one at Emirates Stadium, where we have the chance to reach the Carabao Cup final.
We’re 3-2 up on aggregate against Chelsea following the first leg at Stamford Bridge, and now look to book our place in March’s final at Wembley Stadium.
Mikel Arteta was asked in his pre-match press conference at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Monday if the Carabao Cup has now become the most important competition we’re in at the moment.
“Yes, I mean the next one is always the most important one and it is the closest at least to reach a final,” he explained. “And tomorrow we are going to have people who really need to create the atmosphere, the energy, the belief that we are going to do it.
“All together, I am sure we are very capable of doing that.”
Read more Every word from Arteta’s pre-Chelsea presser
The Blues have made a positive start to life under Liam Rosenior, winning all three Premier League games, one in the FA Cup, and two UEFA Champions League matches.
They’ve only kept two clean sheets though, against Brentford and Pafos, and their defensive record was put forward to our head coach ahead of Tuesday’s test.
“Well I mean every team has it’s own things, I think Liam is doing an incredible job so far in different competitions as well, and tomorrow the tie has a context which is very specific when you talk about a tie,” he added. “The fact is that we play at home and we have the advantage, but we need to now make it very concrete in the manner that we approach the game certainly tomorrow to win it.”
Mikel was also asked how he has become so connected with our supporters over the years and he went on to speak more about the important role they will be playing in N5 in the second leg.
“I think it’s something, trust, I think a relationship, a cohesion that you have to build every single day, the way you behave when you win, when you don’t win, in the manner that you make decisions, in the manner that you are perceived inside the club,” he said. “I don’t know, I think these are all factors. I’m very, very grateful for the way I get treated, the way I get respected, for the response that all our supporters have with the team and with myself constantly.
“Tomorrow we have a beautiful night together again to make something special and we’re all together, we’re going to do it.”
Copyright 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.