Granit puts rock-solid Arsenal into League Cup final

London: Arsenal fought back from a goal down against old foes Chelsea to reach the League Cup final as Granit Xhaka poked home to complete a 2-1 second-leg win on Wednesday that set up a Wembley showdown with Manchester City.

Nothing separated the sides after the semi-final’s first leg at Stamford Bridge ended goalless two weeks ago, but the stalemate was swiftly broken as Chelsea took the lead through Eden Hazard after seven minutes at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has faced perennial questions about his side’s steel in the face of adversity, but these were swept away as they levelled five minutes later through a fortuitous Antonio Rudiger own goal before they turned the match on its head.

Midfielder Xhaka turned predator 15 minutes after halftime to finish from close range and Arsenal stayed rock-solid at the back for the rest of the game to set up an enticing final against Premier League leaders City on Feb. 25.

Arsenal had been under the cosh for much of the first half but they came out after the break a changed side, taking the game to their visitors.

“In the first half we gave Chelsea too much respect and distance. We were a bit scared to go for it,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who has never won the League Cup.

“We were not playing in the right position but we amended that in the second half and took control of the game.”

The sides were meeting for the fifth time this season and it was clear that familiarity had bred a certain degree of contempt as the tackles flew in during a fiercely contested opening.Arsenal had lost only one of their previous seven games against Chelsea, but were quickly under pressure as Hazard put the visitors ahead, calmly stroking the ball past David Ospina after Chelsea carved open the hosts’ backline.

The Emirates was subdued as Chelsea controlled the ball but a fortuitous leveller after 12 minutes brought the home crowd back to life and sparked Arsenal’s revival.

A deep corner was met by Nacho Monreal whose header cannoned off the head of Marcos Alonso before ricocheting of Rudiger to leave Chelsea keeper Willy Caballero stranded.

Chelsea were hit with an injury blow when Willian was forced off with what looked like a hamstring problem after 29 minutes and his departure handed a debut off the bench to Ross Barkley.

That seemed to shift momentum in Arsenal’s favour as the hosts finished the first half on the front foot, with Mesut Ozil seeing an effort deflected just wide, before they grabbed the lead shortly after the break.

Lacazette’s pull back was deflected off Rudiger into the path of Xhaka, who stuck out a leg and poked the ball past Caballero from close range. From that moment on Chelsea barely created a chance as Arsenal stayed resolute at the back and sharp on the counter, with the best opening falling to Alex Iwobi whose effort from 15 metres was saved by the legs of Caballero.

It was Chelsea’s first defeat since Dec. 9, yet they have now failed to win six out of their last seven games, if you discount their penalty shootout win over Norwich in the FA Cup.

Source: News Agency

Courtois urges Chelsea to show killer instinct

LONDON: Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has challenged his misfiring team-mates to rediscover their cutting edge in Saturday's clash with Leicester.

Antonio Conte's side were held to a frustrating goalless draw in the League Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal on Wednesday despite creating a host of chances.

The Blues were also held to a scoreless draw by second tier Norwich in the FA Cup third round last weekend.
With only 41 Premier League goals this season, Chelsea have scored less than any of their top four rivals and lag 16 points behind leaders Manchester City.

Conte has called on his players to show a more ruthless instinct in front of goal and, with Leicester due at Stamford Bridge this weekend, Courtois echoed his manager's words.

"Against Stoke we scored five goals but against other teams we have maybe missed too many chances," Courtois said.
"Like 2-2 at the Emirates (on January 4) and 0-0 and at the weekend against Norwich, maybe we have to score more goals from the chances we create because I think we create enough danger, but we need to finish it as well."

There was nothing wrong with Chelsea's approach play as they carved open the Arsenal defence on several occasions, but Blues defender Antonio Rudiger knows that enterprising build-up counts for nothing without a goal the end of it.
"I think the last pass is missing, the final part to score the goal. There weren't a lot of chances against Arsenal but some were there. We have to kill a match off," he said.

Conte vowed to carry out an inquest into the problem on the training pitch.But the Italian insisted it is not only the forwards who are culpable, pointing to two missed headed chances by defender Andreas Christensen against Arsenal. "We are conceding less than last season, but we are not scoring like last season. We have to improve," Conte said.

Despite Conte's comments and his support for Alvaro Morata, it appears the Spain striker is feeling the burden of expectation.
Morata scored seven goals in his first eight appearances following his move from Real Madrid, as a replacement for Diego Costa, but he has since netted just five times in 21 outings.

Rudiger conceded Morata might be suffering from a loss of confidence.

"As a striker it's normal that you want to score. Of course there are times when the head is down a little bit," he said.
"I'm not worried about him. The whole team is with him and I think all the fans are with him.

"It's just a difficult period for him. Sometimes there are spells when you score and don't score, but his effort for the team is good and he always tries. If he scores again, everything will be fine."

Meanwhile, Leicester striker Jamie Vardy will be fit to face Chelsea after recovering from a groin injury.

Source: News Agency

Tottenham chief says Kane, Alli not for sale

LONDON: Tottenham entertain Everton on Saturday with assurances from chairman Daniel Levy that the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli will not be leaving this month or at the end of the season.

Mauricio Pochettino's side are currently out of the Champions League places, although they can draw level on points with fourth-placed Liverpool if they win at Wembley and overtake Jurgen Klopp's side if they beat the Toffees by five goals or more.

But the club have a new 61,500-seat stadium to pay for at a time when rivals with deeper pockets are eyeing some of their top performers.

Top scorer Kane is reportedly coveted by Real Madrid and the Champions League holders have also been linked with midfielder Alli, along with Paris Saint-Germain. Left-back Danny Rose is believed to be a target for Manchester United.

But Levy has made it clear that the current window is a time for squad-strengthening, not weakening, and said he would reject any unwanted offers in the summer as well.

"I'm 100 per cent confident," he said. "Every single player that we want to keep, I can assure you will be playing for Tottenham Hotspur next season.

"Mauricio's strategy has always been that if an opportunity arises that he thinks can improve the squad then we will need to look at it, but January is always a very difficult window."

Levy is in negotiations with Alli over a new contract that would bring him roughly into line with the money paid to Kane, who is Tottenham's highest earner and who may be granted a contract upgrade himself soon.

Midfielder Harry Winks is a doubt against Everton because of an ankle injury, Rose is set to miss out because of a knee problem while centre-back Toby Alderweireld is working his way towards a comeback from a hamstring tear sustained in early November.

The encouraging start to Sam Allardyce's reign as Everton manager has faded in recent weeks. The Toffees have not won in five matches and are out of the FA Cup following a painful third-round defeat at Liverpool last week.

Defender Mason Holgate was involved in a confrontation with Roberto Firmino at Anfield that could have consequences for both players.

Having claimed he was racially abused by the Liverpool striker, Holgate himself is reportedly facing the prospect of Football Association action for alleged homophobic tweets sent from a now-deleted Twitter account more than five years ago.


There is better news elsewhere for Allardyce, with right-back Seamus Coleman back in training after nine months out with a broken leg and Turkey striker Cenk Tosun set for his debut after completing his £27 million ($36 million, 30 million euros) move from Besiktas.

Captain Phil Jagielka has acknowledged that Everton have to be better in attack, saying: "The gaffer does not say to us that the be all and end all is to defend and we forget about going forward.

Source: News Agency

Liverpool, without Philippe Coutinho, out to halt Manchester City march

The form table suggests Liverpool have realistic hopes of disrupting Manchester City’s waltz towards the Premier League title when they meet on Sunday, although they must quickly learn how to cope without Philippe Coutinho.

The Brazilian playmaker completed a 142 million-pound ($192 million) move to Barcelona on Monday, meaning Juergen Klopp’s “fab four” up front is now just a three.

Unbeaten City are 15 points clear at the top of the table, having scored more goals than anybody with 64, but fourth-placed Liverpool come second on that count with 50.

Klopp’s side are unbeaten in 17 games in all competitions since they were thrashed 4-1 by Tottenham on Oct. 22.

Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah is set to return from injury and he and Sadio Mane are likely to play either side of striker Roberto Firmino.

Although Coutinho will no longer be able to provide the trio with ammunition, they still have the speed and guile to trouble Pep Guardiola’s side at the back.

Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer believes the Reds can get at City’s defence.

“We know Manchester City’s quality, we know that they’re running away with (the league) at the minute, but I think, on their day, Liverpool can match anybody,” McAteer told the Liverpool website.

”They’re so good going forward. You’ve got to be (wary) of the attacking prowess that they’ve got but there are areas of weakness.

“If you can get in between the lines and at the two centre-halves, which I feel we can, then there are chances and goals there.”

City, however, will look to repeat their dominant 5-0 victory over Liverpool at the Etihad in September, although they will be without injured striker Gabriel Jesus, who scored a brace that day.

This time they will have Virgil van Dijk in their way with the Liverpool defender set to make his Premier League debut after his move from Southampton.

Van Dijk enjoyed a dramatic debut for his new team in the FA Cup, scoring late on against Everton to earn Liverpool a derby victory.

City’s Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne said his team would just focus on their own performance.

”We go there to win the game,“ he said. ”They will have a very strong team and they want to be there for the Champions League (places).

“We just try to do the things that we do well and then we will see what happens.”

Second-placed Manchester United host Stoke City on Monday, the visitors currently without a coach after sacking Mark Hughes following their FA Cup defeat by League Two Coventry City.

Coach Eddie Niedzwiecki is in temporary charge of the team for the trip to Old Trafford, with Jose Mourinho’s side anxious to keep ahead of the chasing pack behind Manchester City.

The Portuguese has been embroiled in a war of words with Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, whose side host Leicester City on Saturday when a victory would see them provisionally move above United into second.

Tottenham host Everton on Saturday and Arsenal travel to Bournemouth on Sunday. Crystal Palace face Burnley, Huddersfield meet West Ham United and Newcastle United entertain Swansea City in other weekend matches.


Source: News Agencies