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Liam Rosenior believes the timing of his arrival at Chelsea and key absences contributed to the Blues losing twice to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Rosenior will hope that the idiom ‘third time’s a charm’ plays out when he marches his Chelsea squad to the Emirates to face Arsenal once again.
The Englishman has managed 12 Chelsea games thus far, and after Sunday’s action concludes, 23% of his experiences on the touchline would have come against the Gunners.
While Mikel Arteta will be hoping for more of the same, as Arsenal beat Chelsea in both the home and away legs of the Carabao Cup semi-final, Rosenior knows one thing will be different.
In the Chelsea boss’s pre-match press conference, he was asked about his experience of facing Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.
Fill the blanks: On Sunday, the score will be Arsenal _ Chelsea _.
Credit: Getty Images/Marc Atkins Liam Rosenior on why Arsenal beat Chelsea twice in the Carabao Cup semi-final
Arsenal won 3-2 at Stamford Bridge in the first leg and 1-0 in the decisive second leg at the Emirates.
While Rosenior admitted that the two defeats ‘disappointed’ the Blues, he acknowledged two reasons as to why Arsenal were able to beat Chelsea.
“I think there were availability issues. Not an excuse,” he said, before giving another explanation.
“In fact, in both games, the first leg, I was here for two games. We have to look at it with the right context.”
Rosenior suggested that key absences, and how soon after arriving he faced Arsenal, might have contributed to the defeat, later adding that he’s eager to ‘change’ the outcome on Sunday.
“We did not get the result that we wanted, and we want that to change on Sunday.”
Arsenal’s clearest route to beating Chelsea
Rosenior wants things to change, but Arteta needs more of the same, as the Premier League title race is heating up.
This is Petr Cech’s Arsenal vs Chelsea combined XI. What changes would you make?
Credit: GRV Media’s TalkingPoints
For all of the noise around the Gunners, they must remember that, despite the tactics, football is a very simple game.
When it comes to facing Chelsea, it is as simple as scoring, as the Blues have kept just three clean sheets in 12 games under Rosenior, something Arsenal must exploit.
The issue for Chelsea is that scoring against Arsenal at the Emirates is not easy, as Arteta’s side boasts the best defensive record at home in the Premier League, conceding eight in 13 matches.
Arsenal will feel as though they can exploit Chelsea’s leaky defence, but the real question is whether their rivals can breach the best back four in the league.
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