Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea — Havertz forces Wembley return
One goal in the 90th minute separated Arsenal and Chelsea, a thin margin that nonetheless shunts Mikel Arteta’s side through to the League Cup final.
Match Summary
Arsenal endured long spells without the ball and survived 14 Chelsea attempts, yet Robert Sánchez was largely untroubled. Arsenal produced only five shots of their own, two on target, but the second of those delivered the decisive blow: Declan Rice advanced into the right half-space and threaded a low pass that Kai Havertz met first time to beat the Chelsea goalkeeper. It was the only moment Chelsea’s defensive block lost its bearings, and it proved terminal.
Tactical Snapshot
Arteta went with four centre-backs across the line — Jurriën Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães and Piero Hincapié — and the ploy throttled Chelsea’s transitions. Arsenal ceded possession (44%) and squeezed the middle, relying on Martín Zubimendi and Rice to close Enzo Fernández’s passing lanes. Chelsea’s response was volume from range: nine of their 14 shots came from outside the box, the clearest sign that the visitors never located a route through crowded central zones.
Chelsea looked livelier after introducing Cole Palmer and Estêvão, but Arteta’s own substitutions were better timed. Leandro Trossard and Havertz offered the ball retention that Viktor Gyökeres and Noni Madueke had struggled to provide. Havertz, lingering between Chelsea’s lines, finally found the space that had been denied to João Pedro and Liam Delap all night.
Key Performers
- Piero Hincapié: five tackles, eight duels won, plus Arsenal’s joint-high shot on target from an early set piece, underpinning the left flank.
- Declan Rice: 71 passes (60 completed) and the assist for Havertz, dictating tempo when Arsenal did have the ball.
- Gabriel Magalhães: 77 passes with two key balls from defence, screening the box whenever Chelsea worked possession wide.
- Enzo Fernández: three shots and two key passes for Chelsea, yet forced to shoot from distance thanks to Arsenal’s compact structure.
Statistics
- Shots (on target): Arsenal 5 (2) | Chelsea 14 (2)
- Possession: Arsenal 44% | Chelsea 56%
- Passes completed: Arsenal 347 | Chelsea 458
- Corners: Arsenal 2 | Chelsea 5
- Fouls: Arsenal 14 | Chelsea 12
- Yellow cards: Arsenal 0 | Chelsea 3 (Delap, Gusto, Estêvão)
Arsenal now have a trip to Wembley to plot, while balancing the league programme. Arteta will want a sharper attacking rhythm before the final, but this performance proved the defensive platform is in place; the next weeks will be about preserving that resilience and finding Havertz the service to repeat tonight’s finish.
