Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior claims Arsenal disrespected his team during the warm-up for the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday. Rosenior was seen shouting at Arsenal players to stay on their half of the pitch and not interfere with Chelsea’s warm-up. Arsenal went on to win 1-0, taking a 4-2 aggregate victory.
Rosenior said the issue wasn’t with the players but with where Arsenal were warming up, affecting Chelsea’s preparation. “I asked them, maybe not politely, to stay in their half. It’s about respect and proper football etiquette,” he explained. He added that he holds Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta in high regard and had no personal issues with the club.
Since taking over from Enzo Maresca in January, Rosenior has won six of eight games, with his only losses coming against Arsenal in the semi-final. He defended his tactics in the second leg, including switching from three centre-backs to a more attacking setup, which almost brought Chelsea level on aggregate.
“The noise outside the club doesn’t affect me. We gave a solid performance against a strong home team,” Rosenior added.
