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David Hytner<\/p>\n
It was the latest display of Arsenal\u2019s power and aggression, their remorselessness. And when it was over, this Carabao Cup<\/a> semi-final felt firmly within their grip. But for a late goal from the Chelsea substitute, Alejandro Garnacho, his second of an eventful cameo, it would surely have been over.<\/p>\n Even so, it was difficult on this evidence to predict anything other than Arsenal<\/a> progressing into the final; moving closer to a rare piece of silverware under Mikel Arteta \u2013 one to pave the way for others this season.<\/p>\n Arsenal brought the physical fight. There were times when they seemed to bully Chelsea, when they made Liam Rosenior fret on his first home game as the Chelsea manager. They scored the opening goal from a set-piece, of course, Ben White converting from a Declan Rice corner \u2013 Arsenal\u2019s 24th from a set-piece this season. And they got a second from Viktor Gy\u00f6keres, the Chelsea goalkeeper Robert S\u00e1nchez dreadfully at fault as he was for the opener.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Arsenal reaction<\/p>\n Viktor Gyokeres<\/p>\n [On his goal] It\u2019s not [Ben White\u2019s] first assist for me. I knew he was going to try to find me and he did, so\u2026 nice.<\/p>\n [On scoring a tap-in] That\u2019s what I need to do. I can do it more often so, yeah, we won today and we keep going.<\/p>\n There\u2019s still the second leg to play but it\u2019s good to come away with a win.<\/p>\n Ben White<\/p>\n We didn\u2019t play very well in the second half and we let them put us under pressure. That\u2019s probably how we conceded the goals. It\u2019s not up to our standards really, but yeah, we got a win.<\/p>\n [On his goal] We knew there would be a free man [at corners], so it was just finding that. I was free and managed to get into a good space.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Still want more? Good, because the Afcon semi-final between Nigeria and the hosts Morocco has gone to extra-time. Billy Munday is on duty that for tht game.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Arsenal are in charge of their Carabao Cup<\/a> semi-final after an impressive victory at Stamford Bridge. They led from the seventh minute onwards, wit Ben White, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi scoring the goals.<\/p>\n An under-strength Chelsea fought hard, with the substitute Alejandro Garnacho scoring twice to keep their hopes alive, but Arsenal<\/a> had a measure of control throughout.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Full time: Chelsea 2-3 Arsenal<\/p>\n There\u2019s a bit of aggro at the final whistle, with Enzo Fernandez trying to get at Martin Zubimendi. Not sure what happened there.<\/p>\n Sound the handbags klaxon. Photograph: Alastair Grant\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.16 EST<\/p>\n 90+4 min Gabriel Jesus is wiped out by Hato in the area, a clear penalty\u2026 except the flag then goes up against Jesus. He started his run too early and it was a pretty simple decision.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 90+3 min Chelsea should have most of their big players back for the second leg. It\u2019s still a tough ask to beat Arsenal<\/a> at the Emirates \u2013 nobody has done so this season – but Garnacho\u2019s second goal has given them a soup\u00e7on of hope.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.53 EST<\/p>\n 90+1 min Five added minutes your honour.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 90 min Arsenal keep the ball for a bit until a frustrated Andrey Santos fouls Saka. Pedro Neto is booked for complaining about the decision.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 88 min Neto teases the corner under the crossbar, where Tosin Adarabioyo is penalised for a foul on Arrizabalaga just before he heads over the bar from about two yards. It would have been a big chance but for the foul.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 87 min Neto runs at Gabriel to win a corner for Chelsea<\/a>, who have been given a new lease of life by Garnacho\u2019s second goal.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 85 min Estevao flashes a shot just wide from the edge of the area, though he was offside so it wouldn\u2019t have counted.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 84 min \u201cBrian McClair was a crap goal specialist, as evidenced by your previous clip,\u201d says Mike Morris, \u201cbut the 1990 FA Cup semi final has that perfect ratio of occasion:crapness.<\/p>\n \u201cDanny Wallace unaccountably ignores Bryan Robson, runs down a blind alley, blindly smacks in a cross which deflects off Nick Henry and trundles to a completely unmarked McClair on the back post to poke home from two yards. It\u2019s a strange kind of poetry.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.46 EST<\/p>\n Pedro Neto\u2019s corner from the right was half cleared towards Garnacho, lurking with intent 15 yards from goal. The ball bounced awkwardly but Garnacho twisted his body to slam the ball into the ground and through the crowd of players. Arrizabalaga had come for the corner and was out of the game.<\/p>\n Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho volleys home. Photograph: Dylan Martinez\/ReutersAlejandro Garnacho wheels away in celebration for the second time of the night. Photograph: Peter Cziborra\/Action Images\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.57 EST<\/p>\n GOAL! Chelsea 2-3 Arsenal (Garnacho 83)<\/p>\n Alejandro Garnacho scores again to give Chelsea<\/a> hope!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 82 min: Double substitution for Arsenal<\/a> Kai Havertz, booed onto the field, and Gabriel Jesus replace Declan Rice and Viktor Gyokeres.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 81 min: Double substitution for Chelsea<\/a> Shumaira Mheuka, 18, and Tosin Adarabioyo replace Marc Cucurella and Joao Pedro.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 78 min Merino is booked for a brazen tactical foul on Joao Pedro.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 77 min The resulting corner leads to an excellent chance for Gabriel, whose header from six yards bounces up and over the bar.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 76 min: Fine save by Sanchez! Arrizabalaga\u2019s long punt is held up excellently by Gyokeres, which precipitates a big scramble for possession in the Chelsea<\/a> area. Eventually the ball loops invitingly for Merino, who smashes a right-foot volley across goal from eight yards. Sanchez, his right leg at full stretch as the rest of his body is moving in the opposite direction, deflects the ball past the post.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.39 EST<\/p>\n 76 min Arrizabalaga is booked for timewasting.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.39 EST<\/p>\n 75 min: Chelsea<\/a> substitution Jorrel Hato replaces Wesley Fofana.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 74 min \u201cCall me a spoilsport, but I don\u2019t really get Arsenal<\/a> fans ragging on Gyokeres,\u201d says Chris Lambert. \u201cHe\u2019s an honest pro, working hard, making an impact. He\u2019s still our top scorer this season and a return of one in three in his first six months moving from a league no one knows the name of, to the top of the most watched league on the planet, is really not that shabby.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 72 min That was the goal of a No9, not a No6. His blood ran cold as he ignored the challenges of Santos and Fofana, and the finish was emphatic.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Merino fed the ball into Gyokeres, who touched it off to Zubimendi just inside the area. He walked away from Andrey Santos and then Fofana \u2013 who sold himself a bit too easily \u2013 and rammed a left-foot shot past Sanchez.<\/p>\n Martin Zubimendi fires home to restore Arsenal\u2019s two goal cushion over Chelsea. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane\/Arsenal FC\/Getty ImagesZubimendi celebrates with a leap. Photograph: Alastair Grant\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.46 EST<\/p>\n GOAL! Chelsea 1-3 Arsenal (Zubimendi 71)<\/p>\n Martin Zubimendi restores Arsenal\u2019s two-goal lead with a fine solo goal!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 68 min: Arsenal<\/a> substitutions Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli replace Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 67 min Rice, whose first free-kick against Real Madrid last season was from a not dissimilar position, curls this one over the bar.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 67 min We\u2019re still waiting for Arsenal<\/a> to take that free-kick. Odegaard and Rice are over it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 66 min \u201cPleased to see Swansea legend Gyokeres get his goal,\u201d writes Matt Dony. \u201c(Loan spell; 11 games, 0 goals.)\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 65 min Arsenal have a decent spell of possession until Saka is wiped out from behind by Badiashile. He\u2019s booked and Arsenal<\/a> have a free-kick 22 yards from goal.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.26 EST<\/p>\n 63 min \u201cBoth Charlie Nicholas goals, which ended Ian Rush\u2019s invincible-record-whenever-he-scored in the Cocamilkelows Cup final of 1987, were abysmal,\u201d writes Ian Rush Paul Griffin. \u201cThe first was the footballing equivalent of watching a man in a beige tracksuit retrieving a small number of plastic spoons he has dropped on a shopping precinct table. The second had the panache of the disclaimer at the back of a Flemish maintenance manual for a discontinued caravan tow-bar. YouTube should not allow them to be uploaded.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 60 min Estevao crackles infiueld from the right and whips a Saka-like curler towards the far corner. Gabriel takes no chances and heads behind for a corner. This is Chelsea\u2019s best spell of the game.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 59 min Saka\u2019s corner is punched away by Sanchez at the near post. The ball bounces up towards Odegaard, just inside the area, but he can\u2019t control a shot that swerves well wide.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Chelsea are back in it. Pedro Neto\u2019s chipped cross from the right side of the area cleared everyone in the six-yard box and reached the substitute Garnacho beyond the far post. He took a touch and swished a shot through the legs of the outrushing Kepa. A nice finish and a crucial goal.<\/p>\n Alejandro Garnacho pulls a goal back for the home side. Photograph: Ben Stansall\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.25 EST<\/p>\n GOAL! Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal (Garnacho 57)<\/p>\n Ahem.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 57 min Arsenal could put this tie to bed, with a hot water bottle and an appropriate dose of Zopiclone, in the next 10 minutes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 56 min There are unconfirmed reports that Charles Antaki (50 min) has found a late-night provider and is having VG tattoed on his forehead.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 55 min Arsenal v Manchester City would be a mouthwatering final, eh.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 54 min Odegaard hits a sweet strike from 25 yards that is punched away to his left by Sanchez. A comfortable save.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 53 min: Chelsea<\/a> substitutions Alejandro Garnacho and Benoit Badiashile replace Josh Acheampong and Marc Guiu. Achemapong played pretty well but Guiu got lost in the aura of Saliba and Gabriel. No shame in that.<\/p>\n Joao Pedro will move up front with Pedro Neto (I think) playing as the No10. Badiashile has gone to centre-back with Wesley Fofana switching to the right.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 52 min That\u2019s a really nice moment for Gyokeres, his eighth goal for Arsenal<\/a> and the most important to date.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 50 min \u201cHe always had my complete confidence<\/a>,\u201d writes Charles Antaki, who as we speak is buying up www.viktorgyokeresfanclub.com.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Saka ran at Cucurella, waited for White\u2019s overlapping run and played a perfectly weighted pass down the line. White slid a low cross that went through the hands of the diving Sanchez and was swept into the net from three yards by Gyokeres. That\u2019s another bad mistake from Sanchez I\u2019m afraid.<\/p>\n Viktor Gyokeres slots the ball home from close range to double Arsenal\u2019s lead. Photograph: Peter Cziborra\/Action Images\/ReutersCue the trademark celebration. Photograph: Nick Potts\/PAWhich pleases the gooners. Photograph: Peter Cziborra\/Action Images\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.21 EST<\/p>\n GOAL! Chelsea 0-2 Arsenal (Gyokeres 49)<\/p>\n A poacher\u2019s goal for Viktor Gyokeres!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 48 min Enzo Fernandez clips a nice pass towards Neto, making a good run infield from the left. Arrizabalaga charges towards the edge of the area but Gabriel takes no chances by lumping the ball out of play.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 46 min Chelsea begin the second half. No changes on either side yet.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Martin Widdicks has nominated another naff goal involving Arsenal<\/a> in the League Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks to Nick Hornby for immortalizing this beauty from Danny Wilson. It\u2019s at 6:27 in this clip and had me singing Mary\u2019s Prayer in my head.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.58 EST<\/p>\n Half-time reading<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Half time: Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal<\/p>\n Arsenal lead at Stamford Bridge after quietly dominating a half of few chances. Ben White headed the only goal in the seventh minute after Robert Sanchez flailed at Declan Rice\u2019s corner. Chelsea, who are without a number of key players, responded quite well without putting Fort Knox under any sustained pressure.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 44 min In a shocking development, Cucurella has been booked for a foul on Saka. The half-time break will come at a good time for Chelsea, who are struggling to lay a glove on Arsenal<\/a> in an attacking sense.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Chelsea’s Estevao has a chuckle to himself after being shown a yellow card by referee Simon Hooper. Photograph: Dylan Martinez\/Reuters<\/p>\n 42 min Trossard fouls the raiding Acheampong and is booked \u2013 as is Estevao for waving an imaginary card.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.53 EST<\/p>\n 41 min \u201cMy judgment may be influenced by the grandness of the occasion, and the greatness of the players involved, but the opening goal in Barcelona\u2019s 2-0 victory in Pep Guardiola\u2019s first Cl\u00e1sico<\/a> was memorably crap,\u201d writes K\u00e1ri Tulinius. \u201cXavi sends in an okay corner, Puyol rises high and heads the ball into Samuel Eto\u2019o, who basically just gets hit by it. Luckily for him, Casillas jumps out of the way for some reason and since none of the Real Madrid defenders react quickly enough, the ball bounces in slow motion over the line. Mind you, the second goal was more of what you think of when you think of the greatest club side of recent decades (possibly).\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 40 min I\u2019d love to know how many times Chelsea<\/a> have lost the ball in their defensive third tonight. Love it. It has just happened again, leading to a long throw from Rice that is hoofed clear at the near post.<\/p>\n Arsenal regain possession and Saliba, still upfield, curls a fine effort from the edge of the area that ripples the roof of the net.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 36 min Estevao runs at Trossard and thinks he has won a corner. The assistant referee does not concur.<\/p>\n