Carrying a one-goal deficit from the first leg at Stamford Bridge last month, Liam Rosenior had crafted a sophisticated game plan aimed at holding Arsenal before trying to hit them. Chelsea lined up in a low five-man defensive block out of possession, with nominal striker Liam Delap stationed on the right flank and instructed to track Piero Hincapie\u2019s every foray forward from left-back.<\/p>\n
It successfully stifled Arsenal, who for much of the first hour appeared caught between an instinct to impose themselves and a keen awareness that they were not the team obliged to take risks, given the aggregate score. Rosenior\u2019s strategy was to keep the game close before unholstering his big guns, Cole Palmer and Estevao, from the bench in the final half hour to force the issue and plant doubt in the crowd as much as in the minds of their opponents.<\/p>\n
To some, including a few high-profile television pundits, it was an admission of inferiority. Paul Merson, the former Arsenal player speaking on Sky Sports, pronounced himself \u201cgobsmacked\u201d at Chelsea\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n
But was it not an admission of reality? Their best chance of upsetting an unequivocally stronger team?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can come away from home and press all over the pitch, man-to-man, and you could go 2-0 up or you could go 2-0 down,\u201d Rosenior told reporters later. \u201cI felt that the psychological aspect of the tie was very important as well. On 60 minutes, (the idea was) I bring on Cole and Estevao and the game opens up and we have moments in and around the box.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2259258064-1-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Estevao could only be a second-half substitute at the Emirates following a trip home to Brazil (Adrian Dennis\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a feeling in the stadium that this tie could turn. We didn\u2019t achieve what we wanted to, but it\u2019s not about game plans \u2014 it\u2019s about results. I have to give our players so much credit for what they put into the game. The goal comes when we\u2019re just throwing the kitchen sink at the game. That\u2019s going to happen. We have to make sure that we take the positives from that, but we\u2019re here to get results.\u201d<\/p>\n
This tie was never going to be a fair litmus test of Rosenior\u2019s prospects of success at Chelsea.<\/p>\n
Last month\u2019s first leg at Stamford Bridge fell just four days after his appointment as Enzo Maresca\u2019s replacement, when he was still familiarising himself with a squad in the midst of a gruelling fixture crunch and an untimely wave of flu. Had that game ended 4-1 to Arsenal rather than 3-2, as it easily could have done, Tuesday\u2019s second leg would have been rendered a non-event.<\/p>\n
Deprived of club captain Reece James and winger Pedro Neto by failed late fitness tests and with the knowledge that Palmer and Estevao \u2014 the latter just off a plane after being granted compassionate leave in Brazil \u2014 could only realistically give him 30 minutes plus a possible 30 more in the event of extra time, Rosenior\u2019s choice to take the pragmatic route from the start was eminently justifiable.<\/p>\n
It may be an inconvenient truth for some, but Arsenal are the best team in England and in Europe right now.<\/p>\n
They are not the prettiest team to watch but they are nasty in the nicest possible sense, with size and snarl in every position. They find pleasure in the grind and take a winner\u2019s relish in defending.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2259773202-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Chelsea found their way to goal blocked by Arsenal on Tuesday (Mike Hewitt\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Through the fog of fierce London rivalry, Chelsea fans can grudgingly recognise in Mikel Arteta\u2019s side many qualities they have prized at Stamford Bridge in this century.<\/p>\n