Liam Rosenior sends a message to his Chelsea ‘winners’ as they bid to extend Arsenal’s five-year trophy drought with a Carabao Cup upset

Liam Rosenior has reminded Chelsea’s players they are proven winners who have lifted trophies – as they prepare to face an Arsenal side who have not secured such silverware in more than five years.

The Blues must overturn a 3-2 deficit in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium in order to reach an early first final under Rosenior.

Chelsea won the Conference League and Club World Cup under Rosenior’s predecessor Enzo Maresca last season, while Arsenal’s most recent major success came in the 2020 FA Cup final – unless counting the 2023 Community Shield.

While Mikel Arteta’s men are seemingly on their way to ending their drought this campaign, Rosenior believes his side know how to handle high-pressure games.

‘My players, I look at maybe Enzo Fernandez, who has won a World Cup, and the group winning two trophies last year,’ Rosenior said. ‘They can play in big games, they can perform in big games, and it is definitely a big game on Tuesday.

‘I won’t speak about what Arsenal or Mikel Arteta have or haven’t done. That’s not my concern. My concern is resting. It’s another three-game week. We need to recover. It’s going to be a really physical game on Tuesday. We’ll see. We’ll go and play our game.

Rosenior highlighted success within Chelsea’s group, including Enzo Fernandez winning the World Cup with Argentina

Arsenal hold a narrow 3-2 leg ahead of their second leg of the semi-final at the Emirates on Tuesday

‘The reality is Arsenal are favourites for the tie. They’re a goal up and they’re at home, so they’ll expect to go through. We need to take it as far as we can and as deep as we can and then the second half hopefully will be massive in terms of turning the tie around.’

Chelsea have shown a knack for comebacks of late. After trailing 2-1 to Napoli at half-time in the Champions League last week, they won 3-2. When 2-0 down to West Ham at the break in the Premier League on Saturday, Rosenior’s three half-time substitutes inspired a 3-2 victory.

While a few fans may disagree, Rosenior insists he does not have a ‘best 11’ at Chelsea, explaining: ‘I never have done in all of the clubs that I’ve worked with. Why? Because of the demands, the physical demands of the Premier League, or Ligue 1, or the Championship now with 46 games. You need a squad, and you need to use the players in the correct way to challenge over the course of the season. I can’t speak for other managers if they have a best 11.

‘I try to pick the right starting team, but I also try to pick a bench that will give us the right finishing team as well. So far, I have to say, the substitutes in every game we’ve played have made a huge impact. It’s not down to my tactical stuff, there’s some part of that, but it’s down to their mentality.’

Estevao Willian missed Chelsea’s comeback versus West Ham because he had to fly back to Brazil for personal reasons. On whether the 18-year-old will be available for this clash with Arsenal, Rosenior said: ‘I don’t know yet. With Este, he is a young kid who has come and been magnificent. He is going through a really difficult time for personal reasons and is on compassionate leave.

‘I won’t put any pressure on him. It has to be right for him and he has to feel in the right place to perform for this team.’