Chelsea v Arsenal in the league cup. Who is best prepared?

 

 

By Tony Attwood

We have seen that in the last six games, both Chelsea and Arsenal have been doing well – in fact, the clubs sit second and third in the “last six games table” although Chelsea are still 13 points behind in the League.

We can also see that since losing to Arsenal in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final, Chelsea have been on a run of five straight wins  – two in the Champions League against Pafos and Napoli and two in the league against Brentford and Crystal Palace.   So it is fair to say they will be full of bounce approaching the game tomorrow.

The one statistic that really works in Arsenal’s favour is that in the last nine games against Arsenal, Chelsea have not won one match.  The nearest they have got is three draws – and of course, given that Arsenal won the first leg of this semi-final, a draw will be enough to see Arsenal make it to the final.

Chelsea do, however, have a much better record in the League Cup than Arsenal, being runners-up five times and winners five times.   Their most recent performances of note were as winners in 2015.   Since then they have been in the final three times, in 2019, 2022 and 2024, losing on each occasion.

However Chelsea’s five victories in the trophy do not put them top of the League Cup tree.  That “honour” goes to Liverpool with ten wins, Manchester City with eight, Manchester United with six and then in fourth place, Chelsea with five.

This of course, contrasts with the FA Cup, which Arsenal have won more than any other club (14 times) while Chelsea have won it eight times.

But of course it is the League Cup today, and this is the competition in which  Arsenal have been runners-up more than any other club; they have lost the final six times, this in part being because Arsenal have generally played reserve players in the League Cup, and continued this policy through to the final.

According to figures from Arsenal.com itself, Arsenal had by the start of the current season played 249 League Cup games, compared with Liverpool’s 261.

Arsenal’s biggest win in the competition was the 7-0 victory over Leeds United in the game at Highbury on 4 September 1979.   The goals came from Alan Sunderland (a hattrick), Liam Brady (two goals, one of which was a penalty), Frank Stapleton, and Sammy Nelson.

But of course, this time around we are playing a club that knows that its chances of winning the Premier League have been blown away, although they are still in the FA Cup having beaten Charlton 1-5 in the last round.  They are now due to play Hull City in the fourth round on 13 February.

As matters stand in the Premier League, with all the clubs having played 24 games, Chelsea’s main objective must be to qualify for the Champions League, which is something that previously they have taken as an absolute given.  But maybe no longer.

For their long run of nine games with just one league win has meant that this cannot be taken as a given, and therefore qualifications in other competitions are now also on their agenda – hence their greater interest in the league cup.

Although I think it is fair to say that their results thus far have not always reflected this extra enthusiasm.   The 1-2 win over Lincoln can be excused by the use of younger players, but the 3-4 away win against Wolverhampton, a club which has thus far only won one league game, did not look that clever.   Yet they did seem to get more into tune with what they were required to do in beating Cardiff City in the quarter-final.   As you will recall, they then lost at home to Arsenal in the first round of the semi-final.

But the EPL Injury table is showing them with seven injuries to Arsenal’s three, and we’ll look at this in more detail next time around.