Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is expecting a very tough League Cup semi-final second leg against an in-form Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium tonight.
Arteta played down any sense of comfort from the first-leg advantage and praised Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior, whose side had gathered strong momentum since that defeat last month.
“Tomorrow we have the home advantage, but we have a lot to do to beat a really good Chelsea side,” Arteta said on Monday. “I think Liam is doing an incredible job. We need to make it very concrete to win it.”
Chelsea arrive in north London on a five-match winning run, having climbed to fifth in the Premier League and secured direct qualification to the Champions League round of 16 after finishing sixth in the league phase of the European competition.
Rosenior, appointed last month, said Arsenal remains favourites to progress but insists his team would push the tie as far as possible.
“They’re a goal up and they’re at home. They’ll expect to go through,” he said. “We need to take it as far as we can.”
Arsenal go into the match in confident mood after a 4-0 league win away to Leeds United, but Arteta has confirmed a major setback with midfielder Mikel Merino ruled out after suffering a fractured foot during the defeat to Manchester United.
“He is a big player for us. It’s a big blow,” Arteta said. “It’s a very rare injury. We’ll have to keep monitoring it.”
“When you lose a big player in the squad, you need to do everything you can to see if someone is available,” he said. “If not, we move on.”
