{"id":1444,"date":"2026-03-20T19:23:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T19:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/?p=1444"},"modified":"2026-03-20T19:23:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T19:23:59","slug":"arsenal-seal-carabao-cup-final-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/?p=1444","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal Seal Carabao Cup Final Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Arsenal booked their place at Wembley Stadium for the first time in six years, defeating Chelsea 1-0 in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at the Emirates Stadium \u2014 a night that unfolded along a tension-filled <strong>Chelsea F.C. vs Arsenal F.C. timeline<\/strong> that only exploded into life deep into stoppage time.<\/p>\n<p>Kick-off came at 3:00 PM local time in front of 59,452 supporters in north London, with Arsenal already holding a commanding 3-2 aggregate lead from the first leg at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">First Half Timeline: Chelsea\u2019s Defensive Masterclass<\/h2>\n<p>Liam Rosenior\u2019s side arrived at the Emirates with a clear game plan \u2014 frustrate, absorb, and deny.<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea deployed five defenders across the backline, crowding Arsenal\u2019s channels and neutralising the hosts\u2019 creative threat for long stretches.<\/p>\n<p>Piero Hincapi\u00e9 produced the only genuine attempt on target in the first half when he forced goalkeeper Robert S\u00e1nchez into a save from range on 18 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal\u2019s well-documented set-piece threat was similarly nullified, as Chelsea pushed players forward from corners and disrupted the hosts\u2019 routines.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-3\" style=\"margin: 8px auto; text-align: center; display: block; clear: both;\">\n<style><!(CDATA(\n@media only screen and (max-width: 42em) {\n\n\t.snackSticky {\n\t\tposition: -webkit-sticky;\n\t\tposition: sticky;\n\t\ttop: 54px;\n\t}\n\n\t.snackStickyParent {\n\t\tmin-height: 600px !important;\n\t}\n}\n))><\/style>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<p><\/center><\/div>\n<p>Former Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga punched clear Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez\u2019s strike from distance as the half drew to a close, ensuring the score remained level at the break.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Arsenal formed in a 4-3-3, Chelsea in a 3-5-2<\/li>\n<li>Hincapi\u00e9 the sole first-half shot on target<\/li>\n<li>Chelsea\u2019s corner strategy effectively blunted Arsenal\u2019s set-piece danger<\/li>\n<li>Score at half-time: Arsenal 0\u20130 Chelsea (Arsenal 3\u20132 on aggregate)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Second Half Pressure Mounts in the Chelsea F.C. vs Arsenal F.C. Timeline<\/h2>\n<p>Chelsea introduced Cole Palmer and Est\u00eav\u00e3o on the hour mark in a bid to inject attacking momentum and claw back the aggregate deficit.<\/p>\n<p>Marc Cucurella and Fern\u00e1ndez both tried their luck from range without troubling Kepa.<\/p>\n<p>Declan Rice was seen urging teammates and the crowd to stay composed as the game became increasingly feisty.<\/p>\n<p>With 14 minutes remaining, Gabriel headed wide from a Zubimendi cross, having been denied by Cucurella\u2019s intervention.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\" style=\"margin: 8px auto; text-align: center; display: block; clear: both;\">\n<style><!(CDATA(\n@media only screen and (max-width: 42em) {\n\n\t.snackSticky {\n\t\tposition: -webkit-sticky;\n\t\tposition: sticky;\n\t\ttop: 54px;\n\t}\n\n\t.snackStickyParent {\n\t\tmin-height: 600px !important;\n\t}\n}\n))><\/style>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<p><\/center><\/div>\n<p>Wesley Fofana\u2019s glancing flick from a corner flashed past Kepa\u2019s near post as the visitors pushed desperately, and Fern\u00e1ndez fired high and wide in the 90th minute with six additional minutes signalled.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Chelsea substitutions: Palmer (60\u2032), Est\u00eav\u00e3o (60\u2032)<\/li>\n<li>Cucurella\u2019s intervention denied Gabriel a near-certain goal<\/li>\n<li>Fofana corner flick and Fern\u00e1ndez effort both wasted in late pressure<\/li>\n<li>Arsenal possession: 44.2% \u2014 Chelsea: 55.8%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Havertz the Hero \u2014 Late Strike Seals Wembley Trip<\/h2>\n<p>The decisive moment arrived in the 97th minute.<\/p>\n<p>Declan Rice fed Kai Havertz \u2014 the former Chelsea forward \u2014 on the right side of the six-yard box, and he rounded S\u00e1nchez before slotting coolly into the centre of the goal.<\/p>\n<p>It sent the Emirates into raptures and confirmed Arsenal\u2019s progression 4-2 on aggregate.<\/p>\n<p>For Havertz, scoring against his former club to send Arsenal to a major final carried an obvious emotional weight.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal will now face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on March 22.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Final score: Arsenal 1\u20130 Chelsea (4-2 on aggregate)<\/li>\n<li>Goal: Kai Havertz (90\u2019+7), assisted by Declan Rice<\/li>\n<li>Referee: Peter Bankes | Venue: Emirates Stadium, London<\/li>\n<li>Arsenal\u2019s first major final since the FA Cup in 2020<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Full Match Timeline<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Time<\/th>\n<th>Event<\/th>\n<th>Details<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Kick-off<\/td>\n<td>Match begins<\/td>\n<td>3:00 PM, Emirates Stadium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>18\u2032<\/td>\n<td>Shot on target<\/td>\n<td>Hincapi\u00e9 forces Kepa save<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>~45\u2032<\/td>\n<td>Save<\/td>\n<td>Kepa punches clear Fern\u00e1ndez effort<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>HT<\/td>\n<td>Half-time<\/td>\n<td>0-0 (Arsenal 3-2 agg.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>56\u2032<\/td>\n<td>Second half resumes<\/td>\n<td>\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>60\u2032<\/td>\n<td>Chelsea substitutions<\/td>\n<td>Palmer &#038; Est\u00eav\u00e3o introduced<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>68\u2032<\/td>\n<td>Chelsea range effort<\/td>\n<td>Cucurella shot off target<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>69\u2032<\/td>\n<td>Chelsea range effort<\/td>\n<td>Fern\u00e1ndez shot off target<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>71\u2032<\/td>\n<td>Arsenal chance<\/td>\n<td>Gabriel header cleared by Cucurella<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>75\u2032<\/td>\n<td>Chelsea chance<\/td>\n<td>Fofana flick past near post<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>87\u2032<\/td>\n<td>Chelsea pressure<\/td>\n<td>Fern\u00e1ndez high and wide<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>90\u2019+7<\/td>\n<td>GOAL \u2014 Arsenal<\/td>\n<td>Havertz rounds S\u00e1nchez, 1-0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>90\u2019+9<\/td>\n<td>Full-time<\/td>\n<td>Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea (4-2 agg.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Match Statistics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Stat<\/th>\n<th>Arsenal<\/th>\n<th>Chelsea<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Possession<\/td>\n<td>44.2%<\/td>\n<td>55.8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Shots on Goal<\/td>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Shot Attempts<\/td>\n<td>5<\/td>\n<td>14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Yellow Cards<\/td>\n<td>0<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Corner Kicks<\/td>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<td>5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Saves<\/td>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 2 --><\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal booked their place at Wembley Stadium for the first time in six years, defeating<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}