In a thrilling showdown for a spot in the final, Arsenal defeated Chelsea 3-2 in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinals.

The Blues’ goal came from Alejandro Garnacho, who came off the bench and gave the Londoners life. They featured Enzo Fernández as a starter and captain in the first major test for Liam Rosenior, the new manager of the Argentine-heavy squad who replaced the dismissed Enzo Maresca a week ago.

With the match 2-0 in Arsenal’s favor, Chelsea’s new head coach sent ‘Bichito’ onto the pitch at halftime. The winger, born in Spain but representing the Argentine National Team, quickly responded with a temporary goal to cut the deficit. It all began with a recovery by Fernández in an action that led to a cross from the right by Pedro Neto, which traveled across the area to the position of a waiting Garnacho, who controlled it and sent it into the net.

Despite the Argentine’s goal, Martín Zubimendi made it 3-1 for the visitors, and the match seemed to be slipping away for the red side of London. However, Garnacho had more to say. In the 38th minute of the second half, the winger collected a clearance from the opposing defense and executed a superb scissor-kick shot that found the right post of Kepa Arrizabalaga, keeping Chelsea alive in the match and the tie.

The Gunners, who are atop the Premier League, took the lead early in the match thanks to Ben White, who capitalized on a miscalculation by goalkeeper Robert Sánchez to head in a corner from Declan Rice, establishing the 1-0 lead with which the first half ended.

Four minutes into the second half, the Swede Viktor Gyökeres connected with a cross from White that slipped through the hands of the home goalkeeper for the second goal. After Garnacho’s goal, Mikel Arteta’s side extended the lead to 3-1 with a goal from Zubimendi 20 minutes from the end.

With this partial victory, Arsenal takes the win from the first semifinal in this Carabao Cup, the third most important competition in England behind the Premier League and the FA Cup.

In the second leg, the Gunners will be the home side at Emirates Stadium, a match that will take place on February 3. The winner of the tie will face the winner of Newcastle-Manchester City, a matchup in which the Citizens took the first leg 2-0.

Roundtablesports is Free to join! You can post your own thoughts, comment on articles, and start conversations with our Roundtable Writers. Scroll up to the top of the page and click 'Join'.

Download the FREE Roundtable APP, and get even easier access to your favourite teams and news!