Chelsea 2 – 3 Arsenal

Arsenal will take a narrow advantage into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final after a frantic 3-2 first-leg win at Chelsea.

Goals from Ben White, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi saw the Gunners take victory at Stamford Bridge, but Alejandro Garnacho struck on two occasions after coming off the bench.

But Arsenal will have belief they are on track to reach Wembley, and end Mikel Arteta’s record of losing their last four two-legged semi-final ties on the spin.

Liam Rosenior’s first home game in charge of Chelsea ended in defeat, but he will have hope of a reversal in the second leg at the Emirates Stadium, which takes place in three weeks on Tuesday February 3.

Gyokeres strikes as Gunners take lead in tie

Rosenior was greeted by warm applause before kick-off, but optimism of a good start vanished after seven minutes as White headed the opener from a trademark Declan Rice delivery from a corner.

Somewhat contentiously, there was a brief VAR check for offside, with Gyokeres potentially interefering on the line as the ball sailed past him. But while it took several minutes to disallow Antoine Semenyo’s goal for Man City in a similar incident in the other semi-final, this one was checked and cleared within seconds.

Arsenal then took firm control of the tie on 49 minutes as Gyokeres bundled in from close range after Robert Sanchez failed to gather White’s cross and it spilled into the striker’s path for just his second goal since the start of November.

After the game he acknowledged the criticism in recent weeks for not having the right instincts in the box for a striker. “That’s what I need to do,” he told Sky Sports. “I can do it more often.”

Rosenior responded with immediate changes, and one of his substitutes, Garnacho, fired Chelsea back into the game after Pedro Neto’s cross landed at his feet at the far post just before the hour.

Zubimendi restored Arsenal’s two-goal advantage on 71 minutes as he slammed in after combining well with Gyokeres, but Garnacho responded again to give Chelsea hope heading into the second leg.

Watch all five goals from Stamford Bridge thriller

‘Arsenal will be kicking themselves’

Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp:

“The late goal has put a nice complexion on it from a Chelsea point of view and for Liam Rosenior.

“Arsenal will be kicking themselves. It could be dead and buried. But fair play to Chelsea they hung in there.”

‘Exceptional night for Gyokeres’

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta:

“Viktor has been exceptional in many departments. Of course, his best quality is putting the ball in the back of the net, but he was in those positions many times today. When the ball arrived in the right areas, he did what he had to do.

Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp:

“This was a good night for him. An exceptional night. A lot of the time, the crosses he would’ve been getting predominantly would’ve been from a right-footed right wing-back and a left-footed left wing-back.

“When he plays for Arsenal, the major problem is Bukayo Saka plays on the right and he’s left-footed. So, when Bukayo gets into that position, instead of firing it across the face of goal, he wants to chop back.

“That’s where the frustration comes from.”

Rosenior pleased despite defeat as he insists Chelsea are still in the tie

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior:

“I asked for energy, pressing, running back and helping the team, and I’m very happy with that side of it. I’m not happy with the result, and I’m not happy with the way we conceded the goals.

“But the players didn’t give up and we’re still in the tie.

“We have to be stronger in moments and we’ll work on it. Conceding two goals from restarts isn’t acceptable, even though we scored one ourselves, and that’s an area we need to clean up.

“I’ve only been with the team for six days, but we want to win games now, so we have to learn quickly, but we’re still in this tie. It’s only half-time.

“It’s going to be very difficult. We’ve got four games before then, but I’m looking forward to that return game because it will tell me even more about my squad. If we show the same fight, intensity and quality, and switch on in key moments, we still have a chance to go through.”

Arteta: Job not yet done

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta:

“Coming here against a team with the quality they have in every department and doing what we did throughout the game is very impressive. We showed dominance, scored three goals and had two big chances to score a fourth. They scored at a moment that changed the game a bit, but overall I’m very happy. It could have been even better.

“Sometimes you also have to give credit to the opponent. They have players who can unlock duels and run at you, and that’s what they’re capable of doing.

“They opened up the game. The positions and heights they used made them more dangerous when we lost the ball or when they won second balls and duels. At the same time, they were also much more exposed.

“We’re happy tonight, and now it’s time to start preparing for the next game.”