Dream of Quadruple is alive! Gunners see off Chelsea to reach League Cup final

Paul Scholes' recent claim that Arsenal "might be the most boring Premier League champions ever" caused quite a stir. Few would agree with that verdict - the Gunners are playing a textbook season - but there is no escaping one thing: they moved to within touching distance of their first trophy of the campaign after one of the dullest games English football has produced in 2025-26.

Of course, it suited them perfectly.

Arsenal came into the second leg of the League Cup semi-final carrying a 3-2 advantage from Stamford Bridge and protected it at the Emirates with a 1-0 win, sealed deep into stoppage time by Kai Havertz - a goal that sends them to Wembley on March 22, where they will face the winner of Manchester City vs Newcastle (City lead 2-0 ahead of the second leg).

Weekend football, midweek football. Premier League, Champions League, and two domestic cups. Even the most devoted addicts are feeling the overload - and judging by this tie, so are the players themselves. This didn’t feel like a semi-final, let alone a gateway to Wembley. It felt like a job to be ticked off. What Arsenal and Chelsea served up over 90 minutes was a genuine lullaby.

Both sides rotated slightly from their league meetings between the two semi-final legs - Mikel Arteta forced to improvise without Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard - and spent most of the night locked in a cautious midfield chess match, with genuine attacking moments at a premium. One intriguing tactical note: Liam Rosenior's solution to Arsenal's greatest weapon, set pieces. Seven players dropped into the box, while three stayed higher up to threaten on the counter and distract Arteta's men.

Chelsea's biggest scare before the break came after a "second-phase corner": the initial danger was cleared, but Hincapie struck superbly in the 18th minute, only for Sanchez to produce an even better save.

Gabriel Martinelli thought he had the edge over Malo Gusto in the 34th minute when he latched onto a long ball, but the French full-back recovered to block. Chelsea's only shot on target in the first half arrived in the 43rd minute, when Enzo Fernandez tested Kepa, who stayed alert.

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Everything appeared to be unfolding exactly as Rosenior had planned. His idea was clearly to keep the tie alive until midway through the second half, then throw on attacking reinforcements. Estevao, Palmer, Garnacho all came on, Chelsea went ultra-offensive - and still produced little more than a handful of speculative efforts from distance.

Arteta's Arsenal, on the other hand, showed they can play the result when needed. They almost sealed it earlier, in the 77th minute, when Zubimendi's delivery found Gabriel, only for Cucurella to make a brilliant headed block. The home side appealed for a penalty after a challenge between Chalobah and Martinelli, but referee Peter Banks waved it away.

Then came the killer blow. Chelsea pushed everyone forward, took every risk - and paid the price. In the seventh minute of stoppage time, a lightning-fast 3-on-1 counter ended with Declan Rice squaring for Kai Havertz, who rounded Sanchez and finished off his former club.

Chelsea's run of five straight wins - which began after losing the first leg to the Gunners - is over. Arsenal, meanwhile, have now gone ten consecutive London derbies against the Blues without defeat. And they will play for their first League Cup trophy since 1993.

Premier League leaders. Best team in the Champions League phase. Into the fourth round of the FA Cup. League Cup finalists.

The dream of a quadruple crown is still alive.

England League Cup

Tuesday

Arsenal - Chelsea 1-0 (0-0)

/Havertz 90+7/

Arsenal win 4-2 on agg

Wednesday

23.00: (1.80) Man.City (3.85) Newcastle (4.25)

***odds are subject to change***