Liam Rosenior Defends His Chelsea Team After Criticism from Paul Merson

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has hit back at criticism from Paul Merson after the Blues’ cautious approach ended their Carabao Cup hopes against Arsenal.

Arsenal booked their place at Wembley with a 1-0 win at the Emirates, sealing a 4-2 aggregate victory in the semi-final.

Kai Havertz struck in stoppage time to finish the tie, but the wider talking point was Chelsea’s lack of attacking intent across the 90 minutes.

Paul Merson slams Chelsea tactics vs Arsenal

Merson did not hold back analysing the game on Sky Sports after watching Chelsea fail to create any clear chances despite trailing from the first leg.

“I’m flabbergasted. I can’t believe what I’ve just watched,” Merson said. “Chelsea aren’t a bottom-five team. They have World Cup winners. They’ve gone out with a whimper in a semi-final.

“Go out in a blaze of glory, don’t go out like that. They played in second gear. This is a semi-final of a cup and they didn’t have a go.”

The former Arsenal midfielder pointed to Wesley Fofana’s visible emotion at full-time as a reflection of Chelsea’s night.

He added that he would rather see a team lose heavily while attacking than exit a cup tie without properly testing the opposition.

Chelsea’s conservative approach vs Arsenal

Chelsea came to north London needing a goal to take the tie to extra-time after losing 3-2 at Stamford Bridge.

Rosenior opted for a new system and raised eyebrows by deploying striker Liam Delap on the right wing – both of which we saw during his Hull City tenure.

The Blues sat deep for long periods, allowing Arsenal control of the game. Although Chelsea recorded 14 shots, only two were on target, generating just 0.68 expected goals.

Arsenal goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was rarely tested before Havertz’s late counter-attack goal settled the contest.

Rosenior did change tack in the second half, introducing Cole Palmer, Estevao and Alejandro Garnacho as Chelsea pushed higher up the pitch.

Even then, the visitors never looked like scoring.

Chelsea did limit Arsenal’s threat from corners, at least, with the hosts far less dominant at set-pieces than usual after tweaks that briefly blunted their biggest weapon.

Liam Rosenior hits back at Merson criticism

Speaking after the match, Rosenior defended his decision-making and dismissed what he described as easy hindsight from pundits.

“I’ve been a pundit. It’s easy. It’s easy in hindsight,” he said. “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. If you lose games, you’ll be criticised. If you win, you’re a genius. It’s normally somewhere in between.”

The 41-year-old also pointed to the psychological side of the tie, suggesting Chelsea were trying to keep the game alive before rolling the dice later on.

“I felt the psychological aspect was important. Around 60 minutes we bring on Cole and Estevao and the game opens up,” Rosenior added. “There was a feeling in the stadium that the tie could turn.”

Jamie Redknapp echoes Merson’s view

Jamie Redknapp also questioned Chelsea’s approach, arguing that a semi-final demands more risk.

“It was a tough watch,” he said. “I could see the plan to stay in the game and then bring on the big guns, but it didn’t happen.

“There comes a point where you have to take emotion into a game. It’s a semi-final, you’ve got to throw punches. Two shots on target isn’t good enough.”

Redknapp also criticised Chelsea’s lack of urgency late on, suggesting the team looked unsure how to respond once Arsenal scored.

The focus now shifts back to the league for both teams as Rosenior looks to bed in his ideas after just four weeks in charge.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have a relatively light February by their standards, with just four games, and a Carabao Cup final at Wembley to look forward to on Sunday, March 22. They will face either Manchester City or Newcastle.

The win also eases pressure on Mikel Arteta, who had come into the tie with scrutiny around Arsenal’s recent cup runs and an unwanted semi-final record hanging over him.