4 months ago
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What's shaping up to beryllium a banner play for Arsenal volition see a travel to Wembley Stadium for the English League Cup final. Kai Havertz scored successful stoppage clip against his erstwhile nine to gain Arsenal a 1-0 triumph implicit visiting Chelsea connected Tuesday (February 3, 2026), sealing a 4-2 triumph connected aggregate.
Without a trophy since 2020, Mikel Arteta's squad leads the Premier League by six points successful its bid to go English champion for a archetypal clip since 2004, and besides finished apical of the Champions League standings aft 8 consecutive wins.
For bully measure, Arsenal has precocious to the 4th circular of the FA Cup, too.
“The past 3 oregon 4 years we've been astatine the apical of the Premier League competing and got truly adjacent but haven't been bully enough,” said Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, referring to the team's 3 consecutive runner-up finishes.
“That's wherefore this play we person that other tendency and occurrence successful our bellies to spell 1 measurement further successful each competition. There's a agelong mode to spell but to beryllium successful a cupful last with this nine is amazing.”
Arsenal volition play Manchester City oregon Newcastle successful the March 22 final. City leads 2-0 heading into the 2nd limb astatine location connected Wednesday.
Havertz has last say
Havertz played for Chelsea from 2020-23 and his decorativeness that sealed the two-legged triumph implicit his aged nine wasn't excessively dissimilar to the 1 which saw disconnected Man City and clinched the Champions League rubric for the Stamford Bridge nine successful 2021.
Having travel connected arsenic a 69th-minute substitute connected Tuesday, the German guardant had the last accidental erstwhile helium latched onto Rice's walk connected a counterattack and rounded goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to slot home.
It was virtually the past footwear of a scrappy and cagey lucifer that was a opposition to Arsenal's 3-2 triumph astatine Stamford Bridge past month.
Chelsea was blessed to soak up unit for the opening hr and enactment successful the contest.
The visitors past brought connected Cole Palmer and Brazilian winger Estevao successful an effort to instrumentality the crippled to Arsenal but recovered the champion defence successful England excessively sturdy to breach, lone managing long-range efforts and a mates of unsafe set-pieces.
Arteta's trophy hunt
Arsenal volition beryllium looking for a 3rd League Cup title, aft 1987 and 1993. The nine has been the runner-up six times, astir precocious to City successful 2018.
It would beryllium a 2nd trophy nether Arteta — and a archetypal since 2020 erstwhile Arsenal won the FA Cup astatine the extremity of his archetypal play arsenic manager.
Arsenal is seeking a trophy to validate its wide betterment nether the Spanish manager successful caller years. Aside from its near-misses successful the Premier League, the squad has had 4 consecutive semifinal exits successful assorted competitions — including to Newcastle successful past season's League Cup.
