Chelsea Vs Arsenal [2–3] – EFL Cup Semi-Final First Leg 2025/2026: Pressing, Precision & Defensive Fault Lines – Tactical Analysis

Chelsea hosted Arsenal at Stamford Bridge for the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals and lost 2-3 to the Gunners.

Arsenal looked more in control of the game, especially during the first part, before Chelsea were capable of bouncing back progressively but failed to equalise.

Arsenal have achieved impressive results in the EPL so far, as they look to complete a memorable season in the Premier League and Europe, and potentially lift the EFL Cup.

It will be tough but not impossible for Chelsea to get back into the game and win the two-legged semi-final, as the second leg will be played at the Emirates Stadium.

To do so, the new head coach will have to quickly start making changes, especially to the way his team defends and to the attacking variations and choices.

In this tactical analysis, we explore Chelsea’s most notable defensive weaknesses and the issues that led to Arsenal’s goals.

The analysis will also look at Chelsea’s attacking performance and what it lacked to win the game, while shedding light on Arsenal’s high pressing and its impact on Chelsea.

Chelsea Vs Arsenal Lineups & Formations

Liam Rosenior started the match in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Robert Sánchez between the sticks and a back four of Josh Acheampong (right-back), Trevoh Chalobah (right centre-back), Wesley Fofana (left centre-back), and Marc Cucurella (left-back).

The midfield was composed of Andrey Santos and Enzo Fernández as the double pivot, with Estêvão and Pedro Neto as the wingers, and João Pedro as the advanced playmaker, behind the striker Marc Guiu.

On the other hand, Mikel Arteta preferred to start the match in a 4-3-3 formation, with Kepa Arrizabalaga as goalkeeper, and a back four comprising William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães as right and left centre-backs, with Jurriën Timber and Ben White as left and right full-backs.

Martín Zubimendi started as the six, with Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard playing as central midfielders.

And upfront, Bukayo Saka was Arsenal’s right winger with Leandro Trossard on the left wing, and Viktor Gyökeres as the main striker.

Chelsea Defensive & Attacking Weaknesses Vs Arsenal Set-Pieces & High-Pressing Reliance

The match started with both teams applying high pressure to each other’s defensive lines, but without real threats until Arsenal earned a corner kick.

Although Arsenal did not do anything particularly special in this corner execution, other than the very accurate delivery, Chelsea’s superficial defending was the main cause of conceding the first goal.

In fact, all Arsenal’s opponents are aware of their exceptional set-piece efficiency this season and of their ability to score goals and unlock games thanks to such corners or free-kicks.

Therefore, preparing a disciplined, error-free defensive plan for those set-pieces was necessary and could have prevented conceding such goals, especially at the start of the match.

Chelsea Poor Set-Piece Defending

During the action, Pedro was marking White but did not do so well, leaving him behind and failing to follow both the ball and the defender at the same time.

Added to that, he slipped at the moment when he needed to get closer to White to prevent him from reaching the ball.

More importantly, Chelsea did not apply correct man-marking defence when the ball was about to be crossed.

Three Arsenal players were standing at the far post, with only two players marking them, leaving the third unmarked.

The lack of communication and some players’ inability to look at their surroundings and be reactive enough to notice opponents’ escape plans from marking are worrying and only confirm that Chelsea have a lot to work on regarding set-piece defending.

What is even more worrying is that Pedro was covering the left side of the goal alongside his teammate when the ball was about to be crossed, meaning that two players of Chelsea were on the goal line while an Arsenal player was left unmarked throughout the action.

Chelsea Superficial Defending & Marking Issues

Arsenal’s second goal action also confirms Chelsea’s superficial defending and their marking issues, which need to be addressed as soon as possible.

Chelsea left too much space for Arsenal inside the box in this action, and their marking was not good enough to limit the opponent’s action.

Allowing a pass from the wing and failing to mark the opponent’s main striker was surely problematic, as Chelsea defenders failed to follow his movements or apply proper man-marking on him.

Furthermore, the goalkeeper was mistaken for letting the ball slip from his hands after he had intercepted it.

The blame should also be put on the main striker’s direct marker, who should have been following him tightly from the beginning till the end of the action, in order to prevent him from getting to the ball, whether from a teammate pass or through exploiting a second ball.

The third goal conceded by Chelsea further confirms the team’s defensive issues and their vulnerability inside their own third,d as the goalscoring action highlights the ease with which Arsenal players were able to dribble past Chelsea’s defenders and score.

Failing to prevent or deviate from the shot and defending without conviction and without a concrete determination was obvious and impactful for Chelsea, as opting for sliding tackles in such situations was necessary, for instance.

Arsenal Excellent High Pressing

Following Arsenal’s first goal, Chelsea tried to advance more consistently and remain in Arsenal’s half, but that was not possible, as they could only reach Arsenal’s penalty box occasionally and without real threat.

What prevented them from remaining inside Arsenal’s half was the Gunners’ excellent high pressing inside Chelsea’s own third.

Chelsea looked very fragile during the build-up from the back and lost the ball on a few occasions, too.

The disciplined high pressing of Arsenal disturbed Chelsea’s already slow centre-backs and made them look hesitant in terms of passing options, while resorting to long passes to the wings on most occasions as a last solution.

Arsenal pressed high with at least six players during each Chelsea possession, and the tight marking they applied on Chelsea’s potential pass receivers made things complicated for the Blues as they failed to build attacks with ease.

It counts for Arsenal that they continued using this plan to limit Chelsea’s threats and oblige them to suffer in order to reach the final third.

Chelsea Attacking Solutions & Weaknesses

Chelsea were able to progressively get away from Arsenal’s initial line of pressing and advanced towards Arsenal’s final third mainly through dribbling, especially from the wings.

This helped them gain more confidence and motivation to penetrate inside Arsenal’s defence and create the needed threat.

What was lacking during their first attempts, though, was the key positioning of their striker.

Chelsea were able to create a few occasions, but Guiu did not position himself well to anticipate his teammates’ through passes inside the box.

One of the most remarkable times Chelsea missed occurred after dealing well with the initial Arsenal press, relying on quick passing and dribbling.

Fernández’s role in this regard was central to Chelsea’s advancement and even to the line-breaking passes that helped create the final pass.

The following picture highlights Fernández’s creative pass to Pedro between two Arsenal players, creating a lot of space for Pedro to provide the final pass towards the centre of the box.

Pedro did so, but Guiu was not intelligent enough to anticipate this pass, escape marking, and meet it at the right position and at the right time.

Everything was perfect in this action except the striker’s anticipatory movement without the ball, which prevented a perfect finish.

It should be said that Chelsea recovered from these issues and were able to score, mainly thanks to the convincing introduction of Alejandro Garnacho, who added a lot of dynamism to Chelsea’s attack and helped with unpredictability and movement inside the final third.

He scored two goals for Chelsea, and both looked similar.

The Spanish winger exploited Arsenal’s defensive marking mistakes and Chelsea’s attacking overload to position himself on the far post and receive crosses while unmarked.

It also counts for him that his finishing was excellent on both occasions, using a powerful shot for the first goal and an intelligent, well-executed, bouncing half-volley for the second.

Nevertheless, that was not enough for them to win the match, due to having conceded three goals.

Conclusion

The first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals ended in favour of Arsenal, who exploited Chelsea’s defensive weaknesses and were the better side, especially in knowing how to approach the game from start to finish and how to exploit their key moments well.

Their set-piece plans remain fruitful and crucial, even against Chelsea, and the fact that they scored from open-play situations as well confirms that they are not relying solely on set-pieces and that they are also working on further diversifying their attacking plans.

More importantly, involving their main striker in goalscoring and continuing to push him to score regularly will be very beneficial for Arsenal on the long run, as having a striker ready to exploit half-chances each game can solve complicated matches going forward.

On the other hand, Chelsea complicated things for themselves with their loss at home, as they could have defended better.

Also, losing a lot of time to avoid Arsenal’s high pressing and find solutions to escape from it put Chelsea at a disadvantage, as they only started troubling Arsenal after they were already behind.

But what is certain is that Garnacho deserves to play more regularly, as he has proved he can make the difference and change the shape of Chelsea’s attacks.