Beating an Arsenal side which has been flying high across all competitions so far this season in their own stadium was always going to be a tough task for the Blues, but that was exactly what we set about trying to do in this semi-final second leg.

It had plenty of the fight expected from a London derby of this magnitude, especially with a place at Wembley up for grabs, but was short on goal-mouth action throughout. Arsenal were happy to shut up shop and defend their one-goal lead from the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

The two goalkeepers were forced into just one save each throughout the 90 minutes, Enzo Fernandez the one to sting Kepa Arrizabalaga's palms for Chelsea, but then deep in stoppage time as we pushed for a goal, a long clearance allowed Kai Havertz to score on the break and confirm our exit.

The selection

A change to Chelsea’s shape saw us lining up with a back three, as Wesley Fofana came into defence alongside Trevoh Chalobah and Jorrel Hato. Marc Cucurella also returned, as a wing-back on the left, with Malo Gusto retaining his place on the right. Enzo Fernandez captained the side from midfield alongside Moises Caicedo, while Andrey Santos also started. Joao Pedro and Liam Delap lined up together in attack.

Big-game atmosphere

The task was clear for Chelsea. With no away goals in this competition any more, only a win would do. Win by one and this semi-final would go to extra time, win by more and we would be at Wembley. Anything else would mean elimination from the Carabao Cup for the Blues.

It was a feisty start in a huge atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium, as you would expect for a London derby and a cup semi-final. A physical opening got the crowd fired up even further, with the Blues players and supporters incensed when Cucurella was body-checked, preventing him from joining a counter-attack.

Initially it was Chelsea who saw more of the ball, once the game began to settle down. No surprise given we were the ones chasing the game and the opening goal.

Things became a bit cat-and-mouse when Arsenal were awarded a series of corners. Each time, three Chelsea players would rush forward to pose a threat on the counter and drag Arsenal players out of the box, but it took some strong defending in the six-yard box to repel the set-pieces.

It was a dangerous spell of pressure for the Blues to endure, highlighted when Sanchez showed a strong hand to palm away a curling Piero Hincapie effort. Luckily Gabriel Martinelli couldn’t bring the rebound under control, and we made it through unscathed.

It wasn’t until around 25 minutes in that we managed to enjoy an extended spell of pressure in the Arsenal half. Like that enjoyed by the Gunners previously, it mostly consisted of set-pieces, and came to nothing as Caicedo sliced an effort wide from the edge of the box.

Finely balanced

There was very little action at either end of the pitch as the clock ticked away towards half-time, although it took some excellent defending from Gusto to get back goal-side and block Martinelli’s effort in the box. The lack of goalmouth action suited the home team better than the visitors, though, with their 3-2 lead from the first leg.

You could feel the tension inside the stadium, with both sides knowing one goal either way would change the complexion of this semi-final completely. As it was, when the teams went in for the half-time break, that early save by Sanchez and a comfortable save by Kepa from a long-range Fernandez effort in the 43rd minute remained the only meaningful action forced from either goalkeeper.

There was nearly a crucial goal for Chelsea right at the start of the second half. Following a Blues corner, the Gunners made a mess of trying to clear the ball and it almost ricocheted into their net, before a VAR check for a pull on Joao Pedro which ultimately came to nothing.

The game had lost nothing of the tense edge from the first half, though, and it felt as though something would need to change if we were to fight our way back level in this semi-final. There was also an element of scrappiness creeping into the game in the early stages of the second half, with a number of fouls given against both teams.

Pushing all the way

With that in mind, having held the Premier League leaders for an hour with a back three, Rosenior played the joker card he had kept in his pocket so far. The introduction of Estevao Willian and Cole Palmer from the bench, replacing Liam Delap and Jorrel Hato, saw us return to a more familiar formation. Would that make the difference and open the game up for a vital Chelsea goal during the final 30 minutes?

We continued to pursue the aggregate equaliser. Cucurella tried his luck from the edge of the box, but it curled a yard wide, and that was as close as we had come to testing Kepa since the half-time break. The added creativity of Palmer and Estevao was beginning to make a difference, opening up gaps in the Arsenal half, but as we entered the final 20 minutes, the Blues were yet to take advantage of them.

Joao Pedro went down claiming he was pulled back by Magalhaes as he entered the box, but the referee was unmoved and the chance was gone. Alejandro Garnacho then joined as the latest attack-minded substitution from Rosenior, as we attempted to up the pressure on the Gunners going into the closing stages.

It was a difficult task, though. Arsenal were happy with the continued scrappy nature of the second half, making it hard to build any momentum or pick up the tempo of the game as we looked for the crucial goal we needed to take the tie to extra time.

However, that ultimately proved elusive. Instead it was Cucurella who needed to provide a crucial block at the other end to deny Magalhaes a goal. The closest we came was a Palmer free-kick into the wall and Chalobah’s follow-up on the volley, deflected wide.

Then, as added time drew to a close and Chelsea packed the the Gunners' box, a long clearance created a counter-attack opportunity. It ended with Havertz rounding Sanchez to score and confirm it will be Arsenal who contest the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

What is next

Chelsea get back to Premier League action for a pair of upcoming matches over the next week. First we travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday 7 February, before hosting Leeds United at Stamford Bridge at 7.30pm on Tuesday 10 February.

The teams

Chelsea (3-5-2): Sanchez; Fofana, Chalobah, Hato (Estevao 61); Gusto (Acheampong 87), Santos (Garnacho 75), Caicedo, Fernandez (c), Cucurella; Joao Pedro, Delap (Palmer 61)
Unused subs: Sharman-Lowe, Badiashile, Holland, Guiu, Mheuka
Booked: Delap 55, Gusto 68, Estevao 71

Arsenal (4-3-3): Kepa; Timber, Saliba, Magalhaes (c), Hincapie; Eze, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke (Trossard 69), Gyokeres (Havertz 69), Martinelli
Unused subs: Raya, Calafiori, Mosquera, White, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Jesus
Booked: Arteta 52
Scorer: Havertz 90+6

Referee: Peter Bankes