Arsenal were well on their way to booking their place in the League Cup final at 2-0 ahead just four minutes into the second half on Wednesday, until super-sub Alejandro Garnacho struck twice to give Chelsea faint hope of a second-leg comeback.
MORE — Newcastle 0-2 Man City | League Cup results | League Cup winners, records
Ben White opened the scoring in the 7th minute after Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez whiffed his attempted punch on an Arsenal corner kick. White was posted up at the back post and made no mistake with his thumping header. Sanchez was again at fault — another whiff as he went to ground to collect a cross from White in the 49th minute — teeing up Viktor Gyokeres for his first goal from open play in 11 appearances.
That looked to be that, but new Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior brought Garnacho off the bench four minutes later, and just four minutes after that it was 2-1. Pedro Neto’s corner kick evaded everyone’s head in the goalmouth scrum and Garnacho was quick to collect the ball and sweep it home with his right foot. Martin Zubimendi restored Arsenal’s two-goal lead in the 71st with a brilliant dribble past two defenders and a perfectly placed strike, but again Garnacho answered in short order and made it 3-2 after another poorly cleared corner kick — slightly different spot, same right foot.
Arsenal will try to finish the job when they host the second leg at Emirates Stadium on Feb. 3. The winner will face either Manchester City, who lead the other semifinal 2-0, or Newcastle in the final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, March 22.
What’s next?
- Chelsea vs Brentford — Saturday, 10 am ET
- Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal — Saturday, 12:30 pm ET
Chelsea vs Arsenal live updates - by Andy Edwards
Chelsea vs Arsenal live score: 2-3
Goalscorers: Ben White (7'), Viktor Gyokeres (49'), Alejandro Garnacho (57', 83'), Martin Zubimendi (71')
GOAL! Chelsea 2-3 Arsenal: Garnacho smashes his second of the game through traffic (83')
ALEJANDRO GARNACHO ON THE DOUBLE 😤
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 14, 2026
He once again brings Chelsea's deficit back to just one!
Catch Chelsea vs Arsenal in the first leg of the @Carabao_Cup semifinal LIVE NOW on @paramountplus 📺 pic.twitter.com/zN8sz0MKYN
GOAL! Chelsea 1-3 Arsenal: Zubimendi tiptoes his way in and fires home (71')
Martín Zubimendi with the dummy and FINISH 😮💨
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 14, 2026
Catch Chelsea vs Arsenal in the first leg of the @Carabao_Cup semifinal LIVE NOW on @paramountplus 📺 pic.twitter.com/dIbPtQClOz
GOAL! Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal: Garnacho collects Neto’s cross and fires home (57')
Alejandro Garnacho fires Chelsea back in to this semifinal ⚡
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 14, 2026
Catch Chelsea vs Arsenal in the first leg of the @Carabao_Cup semifinal LIVE NOW on @paramountplus 📺 pic.twitter.com/rnMG1vIUxq
GOAL! Chelsea 0-2 Arsenal: Gyokeres scores after Sanchez whiffs on the cross (49')
Robert Sánchez has gifted Arsenal a second goal 🎁😳
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 14, 2026
Viktor Gyökeres pounces on the spilled ball to double the lead!
Catch Chelsea vs Arsenal in the first leg of the @Carabao_Cup semifinal LIVE NOW on @paramountplus 📺 pic.twitter.com/nxpGdT0FuZ
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal: White heads home from a corner kick (7')
One corner. One goal.
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 14, 2026
Ben White heads home the opening goal for Arsenal 💥 pic.twitter.com/YD7xEiOZYI
Chelsea starting lineup
Sanchez - Acheampong, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella - Santos, Fernandez, Pedro - Estevao, Neto, Guiu
Arsenal starting lineup
Arrizabalaga - White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber - Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard - Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres
How to watch Chelsea vs Arsenal live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Wednesday (January 14)
Venue: Stamford Bridge — West London
TV Channel/Streaming: Paramount+
New Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior got off to a winning start as his side beat Charlton Athletic 5-1 in the FA Cup at the weekend. Rosenior has added positivity and clarity since his arrival from Strasbourg and has set the standards high as he’s made it clear winning trophies is the bare minimum moving forward. But Chelsea have slumped in recent weeks, picking up just one win from their last nine games in the Premier League. Reaching a cup final would be a big achievement early on for Rosenior.
Arsenal’s squad is stacked and Mikel Arteta’s side are looking solid and hungry. They won 4-1 at Portsmouth in the FA Cup at the weekend and despite drawing 0-0 at home against Liverpool last week, they are still six points clear atop the Premier League table and the quadruple is still on. Given the strength of their squad and the options Arteta has now injuries have calmed down, winning at least two trophies seems very possible.
Chelsea team news, focus
Reece James, Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto are all pushing to be fit for this game, while Rosenior is without long-term absentees Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill. Rosenior will likely go with a 4-2-3-1 formation as his playing style isn’t that different to former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca but he does prefer his team to be a little more direct in possession. Marc Cucurella is back from suspension and his scrap with Bukayo Saka will be intriguing.
Arsenal team news, focus
Injuries have really calmed down for Arsenal and Arteta has some huge calls to make. Especially in attack. Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are pushing hard to start ahead of the struggling Viktor Gyokeres, while Gabriel Martinelli scored a hat trick at the weekend as he’s going toe-to-toe with Leandro Trossard for a starting spot on the left. Arteta will likely go with his strongest possible lineup for this first leg so the likes of Raya, Saka, Odegaard and Rice will all come back in to the starting lineup. But Arteta has said that both William Saliba and Trossard are doubts for this game.
Chelsea vs Arsenal prediction
This feels like it will be a very tight, tense first leg and neither team will want to play themselves out of reaching the final at Wembley. Go for a draw. Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal.
