Final Score: Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal
Chelsea and Arsenal played out another draw at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the EFL Cup semifinal to leave it all down to the wire for the second leg, which is a fortnight away. This was Arsenal’s 4th stalemate in a row with Chelsea, as both sides failed to score this time. The game lacked lustre and stars from both the teams failed to live up to the expectations. As a result, the likes of Morata, Hazard and Lacazette were all substituted out before the 90-minute mark.
There were a couple of penalty shouts from the away team but the referee was spot on in his decision. Andreas Christensen found himself in the right position on two occasions but failed to head home for the Blues. Cesc Fabregas too had a chance.
For Arsenal, Wilshere added a lot of creativity in the middle and after he was forced off due to an ankle injury, they were pushed further back and were barely able to create. Yet another frustrating night for Wenger’s men as they enter the second leg under huge pressure, as a draw (apart from a 0-0) would be enough for Chelsea to progress to the final.
Arsenal Player Ratings
David Ospina: 7/10
Made fine stops off Moses, Alonso and Fabregas, dealt with the corners well and voiced out his opinion to the defence. The only mistake he made was when he spilt the shot and failed to collect it. Luckily, it was not too bad.
Calum Chambers: 8/10
He won the 50-50 challenges, stood tall and looked comfortable despite the continuous attack from Chelsea at times. Chambers was fantastic aerially.
Shkodran Mustafi: 7.5/10
Strong, solid and well positioned all the time. He made important interceptions and blocks to deny a few long-rangers.
Rob Holding: 7/10
A much-improved performance from his side as he stood closer to the other two. Didn’t allow the players to get past him and responded to counter attacks.
Hector Bellerin: 6.5/10
He was alright defensively, didn’t provide too much space from his zone. But, he wasn’t effective at all going forward, due to the fact that he could not overlap because of his side’s defensive shape.
Granit Xhaka: 7/10
He made a good recovery tackle which would have set Morata away. Passing was alright, much better than the previous display but needs to tackle better.
Jack Wilshere: 8/10
He was the only reason why Arsenal’s attack was able to create chances. Wilshere was almost in and around everything that was happening and his through ball to Lacazette was sublime.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 5.5/10
Worst of the defenders as apart from a few aerial duels, Moses always had the better of him. The opponent got the chance to run at him and get past him due to his deep positioning.
Alex Iwobi: 5/10
Did the running and looked sharp only on a few occasions. Struggled to find the end product. He needs to get his head right and that’s for sure.
Danny Welbeck: 6/10
Couldn’t find the opening or the cutting edge. Welbeck failed to gel with Iwobi and Lacazette but did the hard work.
Alexandre Lacazette: 4/10
He was wrecked by the opposition centre-backs, struggled to hold up the play or pass accurately. He missed a golden opportunity in the first half and never looked like he could make an impact.
Substitutes
Mohamed Elneny: 7/10
Decent with the defensive play and passed the ball around easily.
Alexis Sanchez: 5/10
Sanchez failed to make an impact and struggled to dribble past the Chelsea defence. No real desire.