February 04, (THEWILL) — Arsenal booked their place in the EFL Cup final with a 1-0 home victory over Chelsea on Tuesday night, completing a 4-2 aggregate success. Kai Havertz scored against his former club in the 97th minute to confirm the Gunners’ passage to Wembley, where they will face either Manchester City or Newcastle United.
The second leg proved a far quieter contest than the first meeting at Stamford Bridge 13 days earlier, which Arsenal won 3-2. Liam Rosenior set Chelsea up defensively, and both sides struggled to create meaningful attacking opportunities throughout the 90 minutes.
Piero Hincapie forced Robert Sanchez into an early save with a fierce left-footed effort, whilst Malo Gusto produced a vital block to deny Gabriel Martinelli before the break. Wesley Fofana escaped punishment for a possible early penalty, whilst Kepa Arrizabalaga denied Fernandez at the other end during a first half that offered little excitement for either set of supporters.
Arsenal failed to register a single attempt between the 35th and 77th minutes, prompting groans from the home support whilst Chelsea gained confidence without carving out clear opportunities.
Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella fired off-target from distance late on, but the visitors left themselves exposed at the back during stoppage time as they piled forward for a goal. Declan Rice found Havertz on the counter-attack, and the forward rounded Sanchez before tapping into an empty net to settle the tie.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
