Arsenal will host London rivals Chelsea in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash with a place in the final against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who defeated Bristol City 5-3 on aggregate on Tuesday, up for grabs. It is all to play for following the 0-0 draw a fortnight ago which leaves this tie so finely poised.
Arsenal vs Chelsea
Wednesday, January 24th
Emirates Stadium, London
Kick-off at 20:00 (8pm) GMT
Arsene Wenger went someway to silencing the critics on Saturday with a dominant display against relegation threatened Crystal Palace. The Gunners were firing on all cylinders and went four goals up in the opening quarter of the game before sitting back and settling for a 4-1 full-time scoreline. This result ended a five-match winless run which saw Arsenal dumped out of the FA Cup in the third round to Nottingham Forest. They are now five points adrift of North-London neighbours Spurs who occupy fourth place, so once more in 2018 it seems that a successful cup run is even more crucial than ever before.
Arsenal recent results: (all competitions)
20/01/2018 – Arsenal 4-1 Crystal Palace
14/01/2018 – Bournemouth 2-1 Arsenal
10/01/2018 – Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal (LC)
07/01/2018 – Nottingham Forest 4-2 Arsenal (FAC)
03/01/2018 – Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea
31/12/2017 – West Brom 1-1 Arsenal
Chelsea’s clash with Arsenal on Wednesday evening will cap a run of five matches in just 14 days for the defending Premier League champions. Antonio Conte’s side have played a lot of football after they needed a replay and eventually a penalty shoot-out victory against Championship outfit Norwich City in the FA Cup third round. Those results formed part of a five-match run of successive draws during which it seemed the Blues would never find their winning form again. They bounced back with a brilliant 4-0 win over Brighton at the weekend, Eden Hazard twice on the scoresheet for their first win in 2018.
Chelsea recent results: (all competitions)
20/01/2018 – Brighton 4-0 Chelsea
17/01/2018 – Chelsea 1-1 Norwich* (FAC)
13/01/2018 – Chelsea 0-0 Leicester
10/01/2018 – Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal (LC)
06/01/2018 – Norwich 0-0 Chelsea (FAC)
03/01/2018 – Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea
*Chelsea won 5-3 on penalties
Whilst the Blues have a mixed recent record against the Arsenal with just three wins over them in the last ten meetings in all competitions including a pair of Community Shield defeats in 2015 and 2017. They have however, won five of their six League Cup clashes against the Gunners in the modern era since the Premier Leagues inception. After trailing Arsenal 2-1 from the first-leg of the semi-finals at Highbury in 1998, a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge ended a seven-match winless run against Arsene Wenger’s side and secured their place in the showpiece final before going on to eventually lift the trophy for the first time in 33 years. More recently, Didier Drogba’s double at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff helped the Blues come from a goal down to seal a 2-1 win in the final in 2007 before Cesar Azpilicueta and Juan Mata scored in a 2-0 victory for Chelsea as they dumped Arsenal out of the League Cup in the fourth round in 2013.
Arsenal vs Chelsea recent head-to-head:
10/01/2018 – Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal (LC)
03/01/2018 – Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea
17/09/2017 – Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal
06/08/2017 – Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea* (CS)
27/05/2017 – Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea (FAC)
04/02/2017 – Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal
24/09/2016 – Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea
*Arsenal won 4-1 on penalties