Declan Rice silenced Chelsea supporters at Stamford Bridge during Arsenal’s 3-2 win in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Mikel Arteta’s side secured a 3-2 win in the first leg of their semi-final tie and got off to a flying start with Ben White’s goal in the seventh minute.
Viktor Gyokeres doubled Arsenal’s lead shortly after half time before Alejandro Garnacho pulled a goal back for Chelsea. Martin Zubimendi found the net to restore Arsenal’s two-goal advantage before Garnacho struck for a second time to hand Chelsea a lifeline ahead of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium on February 3.
Rice provided the assist for White’s opener with another excellent corner kick which Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez attempted to punch away but ended up missing the ball completely.
A Chelsea supporter filmed Rice preparing to take the corner and the Arsenal midfielder received a barrage of abuse from the home fans at Stamford Bridge.
Insults of ‘traitor’ and ‘Chelsea reject’ were heard as Rice stepped up to take the corner but after White headed the ball into the net, the Arsenal midfielder turned towards the section of supporters with a huge smile on his face and began to laugh.
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Arteta, meanwhile, praised Chelsea for their ‘impressive’ display against his side.
‘First of all, I have to praise the players for the performance in the game that we just played against a really good opponent,’ Arteta said.
‘With so much quality on that pitch, we had the feeling at the end, after the 1-3 and the very dominant period that we had in that time, that we had two massive chances to score the fourth one. The result would have been very different, but in that moment, they had an action, they created a corner, they scored a goal and it’s game on. So that feeling is not perfect but as well we have to value what the team has done again.
‘It’s a really tough place to come. They are top side and when you watch them live as well, the quality that they have, how they open you up in a second with the quality that they have, it’s impressive. So that’s why I really value what the team has done again.’
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