Paul Merson tore into Chelsea for ‘going out with a whimper’ after the Blues were beaten by Arsenal in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
Liam Rosenior’s side lost 1-0 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate as Kai Havertz scored deep in stoppage time to send the Gunners to Wembley.
A furious Merson – an Arsenal legend who supports Chelsea – said he was ‘flabbergasted’ by the visitors’ in a scathing assessment of their display at the Emirates.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana appeared to be in tears at full-time, with Merson joking he was emotional because they failed to ‘have a go’ at Mikel Arteta’s men.
‘I’m flabbergasted. I can’t believe what I just watched,’ Merson said on Sky Sports.
‘This is Chelsea Football Club. They’ve got international players, a World Cup winner and they’ve got good players all over the pitch.
Paul Merson was furious with Chelsea’s display in their second leg defeat by Arsenal
‘This is not a bottom four or bottom five team. He’s [Fofana] crying. He should be crying because they never had a go.
‘It’s unbelievable and I’m lost for words. I cannot believe what has happened. They’ve just gone out with an absolute whimper in the semi-final of a big competition. If it worked, it was great, but it hasn’t worked and you can’t gamble like that.
‘Have a go, and go out in a blaze of glory – don’t go out like that.’
Chelsea had two shots on target and 14 overall during a drab second leg, while defender Fofana had the most touches of any Blues player inside the Arsenal box.
Rosenior’s team did have a higher xG than the Gunners before Havertz resoundingly put the tie to bed but rarely came close to overhauling their first-leg deficit.
‘They played in second gear,’ Merson added. ‘This is the semi-final of the cup. You should go out in a blaze [of glory].
‘I keep on saying it but this is not like a League One or League Two team coming to the Emirates to keep the score down. They’ve got the players to mix it with Arsenal and have a go but they didn’t have a go.
‘There’s ways of losing. If they had lost the game 3-0, and they had shot after shot, Kepa was brilliant in goal and they broke like that three times you’d go “that’s the way it is”.
Wesley Fofana was in tears at full-time and Merson joked it was because the Blues ‘didn’t have a go’
Arsenal will face either Manchester City or Newcastle in the final at Wembley on March 22
‘You see Fofana there. He played well but he’s crying – he’s probably crying because he knows it was a missed opportunity.
‘They’ll forever be thinking about that in their football careers.’
In response to Merson, Rosenior defended Chelsea’s tactical approach. ‘I’ve been a pundit. It’s easy. It’s easy in hindsight,’ he said.
‘So if I go and attack the game, press really high and we concede two goals early, everyone says, “What’s he doing?” That’s the reality of my job. The reality of my job is if you lose games, you’ll be criticised. If you win, you’re a genius. It’s normally somewhere in between.’
Premier League leaders Arsenal will face either Manchester City or Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on March 22.
City host Newcastle on Wednesday in the second leg of their semi-final tie, leading 2-0 on aggregate after their victory at St James’ Park last month.
