LONDON: Arsenal edged towards their first League Cup final since 2018 as they beat London rivals Chelsea 3-2 in the opening leg of their semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Mikel Arteta’s side were dominant for long spells and goals by Ben White, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi should have virtually sewn up the tie.

But Chelsea showed plenty of fight in Liam Rosenior’s first home game in charge and a double from substitute Alejandro Garnacho kept their hopes alive.

With 17 goal attempts compared to Chelsea’s 10, Arsenal will feel they should have gone home with a bigger margin of victory and it will be all to play for in north London on February 3.

“I have to praise the players for the performance against a really good opponent. It’s a really tough place to come. That’s why I really value what the team has done again,” Arteta said.

“We had two massive chances to score the fourth one and the result would have been very different. At that moment they created a chance and scored a goal. So it is a very different feeling. It’s game on.”

Arsenal are now unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions as they moved a step closer to their first silverware since the 2020 FA Cup.

The Gunners had lost their previous four semi-finals across a variety of competitions, including the League Cup last year.

As well as leading the Premier League, Arsenal are also still chasing Champions League and FA Cup glory.

But after so many last-four failures in the recent past, Arteta won’t take anything for granted.

“It’s another step. It’s just half-time. We know the big fight we are going to have at the Emirates in a few weeks because they are a top side,” he said. “What we’re doing every three days is impressive.”

Chelsea were guilty of sloppy marking for White’s seventh-minute headed opener before goalkeeper Robert Sanchez spilled White’s cross early in the second half, leaving Gyokeres to tap home in the 49th minute.

Rosenior reacted by sending on Garnacho and he made an immediate impact, drilling home from close range after Arsenal failed to clear in the 57th minute.

Zubimendi restored the Gunners’ two-goal advantage in the 71st minute after more lacklustre defending from Rosenior’s men before Garnacho dragged Chelsea back into the tie, drilling past Kepa from a half-cleared corner in the 83rd minute.

Rosenior, who took charge of the club on January 6 following Enzo Maresca’s sacking, said he should be held accountable for goalkeeper Sanchez’s errors.

“I’m asking Rob to do things that he hasn’t done before,” Rosenior told reporters. “I said to him before the game, and I made this really clear, when my players make mistakes, I’m accountable. That’s on me.

“He will improve in terms of his understanding. That’s Rob’s first game with me, I’ve had two days’ work with him. My job is to help them, not to blame them.”

Chelsea, who are eighth in the Premier League with 31 points — 18 away from leaders Arsenal — will next face Bre­ntford on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2026