Objective ‘close’ as Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta vows to go all out to beat Chelsea in League Cup

LONDON – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is preparing to “knock another big team out” as the Gunners make the trip across London to take on Chelsea in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final on Jan 14.

Arsenal lost at this stage to Liverpool in the 2021-22 season and to Newcastle United last season, so Arteta would know what is at stake and that his in-form side must keep up their good performances.

“Yes, football gives you another chance. We’ve been so consistent in the competition. Now we have to knock another big team out,” said the Spaniard, 43, on Jan 13.

“It (the semi-final) gives you the sense that the objective is very close.

“We cannot do that (squad rotation for cup games). I don’t believe in players for competitions. I believe that we have competition and we want to compete with the best moment of the players that we have in our resource and that’s what we try to do.”

English Premier League leaders Arsenal are still fighting on all four fronts and are unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions, with their latest win coming on Jan 11.

Arteta’s side

came back from a goal down to beat Portsmouth 4-1 in the FA Cup

, thanks to a Gabriel Martinelli hat-trick – his first for the club.

Travelling to Stamford Bridge may be daunting, but the Gunners are now on an impressive 13-game scoring run on the road, including their 1-1 Premier League draw with Chelsea in November.

On the injury front, Arteta confirmed that William Saliba and Leandro Trossard are doubts because of fitness concerns, while Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie are both still sidelined.

The Arsenal boss would, however, be boosted by the return of Kai Havertz, who made a substitute appearance against Portsmouth. The German forward is back since he suffered a knee injury on the opening weekend of the season.

“Yes, obviously we missed him a lot. The way he’s come back, he looks really fit, really confident. He’s such an intelligent player that he’s someone that connects with the players really naturally,” Arteta added.

“So, yeah, we are so happy to have him. He’s going to help us so much and now we have to keep him fit. We have to manage his minutes now. It’s now a case of building his robustness.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior believes his team already have the resources to deliver wins, as he prepares for his second game in charge.

The Briton was appointed on Jan 6, and the Blues’ five-game winless run ended with

a 5-1 FA Cup victory at second-tier Charlton Athletic

on Jan 10.

The game against Arsenal will be his first as manager against a fellow Premier League side.

“I’d love to be here six years or longer. But to do that, you need to start winning. So my focus is that I have ideas of how the team should look like in one or two years,” Rosenior told reporters on Jan 12.

“But I already have resources here to win. The lads trained very, very well today. We will make a decision on the team and go and attack the game.

“I’m happy with the process in which we work as a staff and which the players are taking on. I’m not making it any bigger than the fact it’s the next game and we have to win, and that’s the way I see it.”

The 41-year-old said Chelsea have been preparing for the clash with Arsenal since the moment he took over.

“We’ve been working tactically on Arsenal from the moment I came into the club. Watched all of their games, analysed every aspect of their game, including set plays, which they’re very good at,” he explained.

Rosenior, however, said the threats posed by Arsenal went well beyond set pieces.

“I don’t know who’s calling them ‘Set Piece FC’. I’m definitely not. They’re a team who are very good without the ball. They have a really, really clear idea in the way they want to play with the ball,” he added.

“On top of that, they’re very well organised with good delivery on set plays. That’s what you want to be if you want to be successful.”
REUTERS, AFP