Advantage Arsenal in League Cup sem-final after win at Chelsea

LONDON, Jan 14 : Arsenal edged towards their first League Cup final since 2018 as they beat Chelsea 3-2 in the opening leg of their semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Ben White, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi were all on target for Mikel Arteta's dominant side but a double from substitute Alejandro Garnacho kept Chelsea's hopes alive.

White headed in from a trademark Arsenal corner routine in the seventh minute and Gyokeres pounced on an error by Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez to make it 2-0 just after the break.

Garnacho reduced the deficit four minutes after coming off the bench but Zubimendi finished off a silky Arsenal move to restore their two-goal cushion in the 71st minute.

It looked as though Arsenal would head back across town with a commanding lead for the second leg but Garnacho was on hand to fire home through a crowd of players late on.

Manchester City beat Newcastle United 2-0 in the first leg of the other semi-final on Tuesday.