Why Arsenal star laughed at Liam Rosenior as Chelsea reaction speaks volumes

The main talking points and moments missed from Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday night that saw the Blues exit the Carabao Cup at the semi-final stage

Wesley Fofana’s reaction at full-time said it all. Tears ran down the French defender’s cheeks moments after the final whistle as Chelsea crashed out of the Carabao Cup at the semi-final stage.

Some people suggest the domestic competition does not, or should not, mean too much, especially to the bigger clubs in England. Fofana’s reaction, however, spoke for itself. This young group of Chelsea players want to win every piece of silverware they take part in.

The majority of them had a big taste of it last season when Enzo Maresca led his Blues side to success in the Conference League and the Club World Cup. For Liam Rosenior, though, his first taste as Chelsea head coach will have to wait.

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There is not too much you can fault Rosenior for in his opening month as Chelsea gaffer, bar a couple of below-par halves against Napoli and West Ham United. But both of those were corrected by Rosenior at the half-time break. Going into the second leg against Arsenal on Tuesday night, it was another half-time for Rosenior to work his wonders.

He did – somewhat, anyway. Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team seemed staggered by the way Chelsea approached the match. Rosenior went with a three-back formation and it contained the Gunners to great effect, though the Blues were unable to offer anything in an attacking sense at the Emirates Stadium.

There was a change of system from Rosenior moments into the second-half. Cole Palmer and Estevao Willian replaced Liam Delap and Jorrel Hato – with Chelsea changing to a four-back; a more orthodox system as they hunted for the equaliser in the tie.

Despite applying plenty of pressure to the Arsenal defence, the west Londoners were unable to threaten the Premier League leaders too much. The Gunners stood firm and nicked one right at the end through Kai Havertz just to rub salt into the wounds of the Chelsea supporters.

The Blues put in a solid performance against Arsenal but that was it. They needed more than solid. Rosenior could have changed the setup earlier in the game and looked to take more of a risk. Though Rosenior, speaking post-match, explained how that is easy to say in hindsight.

Asked about television pundits criticising Chelsea’s approach, the head coach said: “I’ve been a pundit. It’s easy, it’s easy in hindsight.

“So, if I go and attack the game, press really high and we concede two goals early, everyone says, ‘what’s he doing?’ That’s the reality of my job.

“The reality of my job is if you lose games, you’ll be criticised. If you win, you’re a genius. It’s normally somewhere in between, I think.”

He is right in a sense. Chelsea were able to stay in the tie because their approach nullified Arsenal’s attacking threat. Without the injured duo of Reece James and Pedro Neto, the Blues were unable to set up in the way Rosenior would have liked. He also felt a duty to protect the injury-troubled Palmer, who came off the bench, and Estevao has only recently returned from Brazil after he missed the weekend’s win over West Ham due to personal reasons.

There were reasons why Rosenior could not take such risks from the start, but after the signs of the defensive structure working, he could have changed things earlier in the game. In truth, though, the tie was lost at Stamford Bridge last month.

On that evening, there were a couple of preventable errors from Robert Sanchez and some other individual mistakes that lost Chelsea the game on the night and left them a mountain to climb at the Emirates – a stadium the Gunners have been beaten at just once this season.

Some supporters – particularly online – have been scathing in their verdicts of Rosenior but there were plenty of encouraging signs on Tuesday night. Though he will want to forget about the 87th minute where he tried bringing the ball down, only to miscontrol it and then listen to a large chunk of the home supporters in the stadium mock him. Eberechi Eze, stood close to the incident, could be seen having a giggle at Rosenior’s expense.

Managers, or head coaches in this respect, are not immune from criticism – and Rosenior will know there are things he could have perhaps done better on Tuesday – but there are plenty of things he got right, too, at one of the hardest places to go in English football.

Some Chelsea supporters might not want to hear that. They will argue that is not the winning mentality that the club has had in the 21st century, but some perspective is needed given it has been less than a month since Rosenior was appointed.

Being disappointed is valid – every football fan is disappointed when their team loses. But some of the reaction is just over the top. Rosenior’s plan worked for the majority; it was just finding a way into the back of the net, often described as the most difficult thing to do in football, that was lacking.