Arteta’s mission
Mikel Arteta has said it is his mission to beat Chelsea and knock his side’s London rivals out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
Arsenal fell short last season and failed to progress to the final of the Carabao Cup following a damning 4-0 aggregate defeat by Newcastle United.
In a pre-match news conference, Arteta said: “Hopefully we’ll learn from last year because it was painful, especially in the manner that the games went and the amount of chances that we missed not to go through, but hopefully this year we are better and hopefully more efficient.”
Seeking to rectify their previous woes, Arteta has said that they are on a mission to progress to the final at Wembley.
“Football gives you another chance. We have been really consistent again in this competition and now we have to knock another big team out to be in the final. That is the mission,” Arteta said.
“Hopefully we have learned from last year because it was painful, especially in the manner that the games went, and the amount of chances we missed to go through. So this year we want to be better and more efficient.
“When you get to this stage in the competition, you get to the final, and you get it over the line and win it, it brings a different kind of energy.
“It brings belief and the sense that the objective is very, very close and that is a massive motivation for everybody.”
Injury news
Chelsea will be without prolific midfielder Moises Caicedo due to suspension after picking up multiple yellow cards in the previous rounds while Malo Gusto, Reece James and Cole Palmer are all doubts through injury.
Gusto, Palmer and James did not feature in Chelsea’s last match at Charlton and their inclusion for the match will be decided after their final training session.
Arsenal look to secure their first major trophy in six years despite heading into the first-leg clash at Stamford Bridge with multiple injury doubts.
Riccardo Calafiori, Piero Hincapié and Cristhian Mosquera are all out with injury, while there are significant doubts over William Saliba and Leandro Trossard’s fitness.
However, Arteta has been handed a boost heading into the semifinal with striker Kai Havertz returning to the squad in anticipation to face his former club.
“Obviously we missed him a lot. A year is a long time in football but as you said, the way he’s come back, he looks really fit, really confident,” Arteta told a pre-match press conference.
“We are so happy to have him, he’s going to help us so much, and now we have to keep him fit.”
Rosenior’s first home test
With their 4-1 win over Portsmouth in the FA Cup on Sunday, Arsenal have gone unbeaten in their last nine matches. However, they will face a revitalised Chelsea side under new manager Liam Rosenior.
Wednesday’s test will be Rosenior’s first test in front of the Chelsea supporters despite his initial triumph in a 5-1 FA Cup win away at Charlton on Saturday.
“We need to have a really, really good game on Wednesday,” Rosenior said in a pre-match news conference. “But I’m confident in the group that they’ve shown, and not just in the time before me, but in the last few days, they’re really hungry.”
“They really believe in themselves and it’s going to be a really, really good occasion on Wednesday night.”
Speaking of his managerial opponent, Arteta said: “I know people have worked with him. I know people that have been close to him in his journey, especially as a coach. And they talk really highly of him. So, I wish him all the best … apart from tomorrow.”
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