Arsenal take step to ending semi-final nightmares - but regrets remain
阿森纳迈出步伐终结半决赛梦魇 —— 但仍留有遗憾
Arsenal's semi-final record under manager Mikel Arteta has not made for pretty reading.
But, after failing to win even one leg in their previous four two-legged semis, Arsenal's 3-2 win at Chelsea in the Carabao Cup has moved them one game away from a first major final since their FA Cup triumph in 2020.
The Gunners had lost their past four semi-finals over two legs, scoring just two goals in total, but will now be heavy favourites to end their semi-final nightmares at Emirates Stadium on 3 February.
Arteta's side have been excellent this season - top of both the Premier League and Champions League, and through to the FA Cup fourth round.
This game was Arsenal's 32nd of the season and they have only lost twice, both away from home to Liverpool and Aston Villa in the Premier League.
But Arteta and his players have the feeling that the margin of their win could have been even bigger before the second leg as they look to book themselves an early chance to lift a trophy in the EFL Cup final on 22 March.
"First of all, I have to praise the players for the performance, for the game that we just played against a really good opponent," said Arteta.
"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 and 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."
Much-needed positive night for Gyokeres
Striker Viktor Gyokeres has not enjoyed the start to his Arsenal career he must have wanted since his £64m summer move from Sporting.
The Sweden forward had not scored since a penalty against Everton last month and his goal against Chelsea was his first from open play since November.
The 27-year-old has looked like he has been lacking in confidence in recent weeks, but his performance in this game looked much more like the player who scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting.
He also provided an assist for Martin Zubimendi who scored Arsenal's third goal to ensure they go into the second leg at the Emirates with a lead.
"That's what I need to do and I can do it more often. We won today and we keep going," Gyokeres said.
"It's still a second leg but of course it's good to come away with a win and advantage for the second leg - but we still have to do a good performance in the second match.
"I think it was a tough game. We defended well. They were, as always, dangerous when they have counter-attacks, but I think we defended well. Unfortunate to have conceded two but offensively we scored three, so happy with that."
Could it have been better?
When the Gunners were 2-0 up, it seemed as though they were able to score at will.
However, Alejandro Garnacho pulled a goal back for Chelsea to make it 2-1 to the visitors.
Zubimendi's excellent finish gave Arsenal a two-goal lead for the second time in the match, but again the Gunners let it slip with Garnacho's second.
Taking a two-goal lead to the Emirates where Arsenal have not lost all season would have put the Gunners in an extremely strong position, but Chelsea are still in this tie.
"We didn't play very well in the second half and let them give us more pressure," said goalscorer Ben White.
"That's how we conceded the goals. Not up to our standards really. It's a bit disappointing, the second half, but a win."
However, despite the position of the tie and Arteta's perceived disappointment with the late part of the game, the Arsenal boss is focusing on their Premier League game at Nottingham Forest on Saturday (17:30 GMT).
"In 20 minutes I'm going to start thinking about Forest and start to prepare and make sure everybody recovers from that," said the Spaniard.
"That's the routine that we have. I'm very happy with what we've done tonight. Put it to bed and now focus on the next one."
四六级核心单词解析
1. triumph
含义:n. 胜利;凯旋;v. 战胜;获胜
例句:Arsenal are aiming for their first major final since their FA Cup triumph in 2020.
翻译:阿森纳有望自 2020 年足总杯夺冠后,首次闯入重大赛事决赛。
2. favourites
含义:n. 热门球队;宠儿(favourite 的复数)
例句:Arsenal will now be heavy favourites to win the semi-final at Emirates Stadium.
翻译:阿森纳如今将成为在酋长球场赢下半决赛的头号热门。
3. margin
含义:n. 差距;幅度;利润
例句:Arteta felt the margin of their win could have been even bigger before the second leg.
翻译:阿尔特塔认为,在次回合比赛前,球队本可以将胜场优势拉得更大。
4. dominant
含义:adj. 占主导地位的;支配的;优势的
例句:Arsenal had a very dominant period in the game and almost scored a fourth goal.
翻译:阿森纳在比赛中有一段优势明显的时段,险些打入第四粒进球。
5. confidence
含义:n. 信心;信任;自信心
例句:Viktor Gyokeres has looked like he has been lacking in confidence in recent weeks.
翻译:维克托・约克雷斯在最近几周的比赛中,看起来一直缺乏自信心。
6. counter-attacks
含义:n. 反击;反攻(counter-attack 的复数)
例句:Chelsea were dangerous when they launched quick counter-attacks against Arsenal.
翻译:切尔西发起快速反击时,给阿森纳防线制造了不小威胁。
7. perceived
含义:adj. 感知到的;认为的;察觉到的
例句:Despite Arteta's perceived disappointment with the late game, he focused on the next match.
翻译:尽管阿尔特塔对比赛末段的表现看似有些失望,但他还是将注意力放在了下一场比赛上。
8. routine
含义:n. 常规;惯例;例行公事
例句:That's the routine that we have - recover quickly and focus on the next game.
翻译:快速恢复状态并专注于下一场比赛,这是我们一贯的惯例。
9. recovers
含义:v. 恢复;康复;复原(recover 的第三人称单数)
例句:The manager will make sure everybody recovers from the tough match against Chelsea.
翻译:主教练会确保所有人都能从对阵切尔西的硬仗中恢复过来。
10. conceded
含义:v. 承认;(体育比赛中)失(分、球);让步(concede 的过去分词)
例句:Arsenal were unfortunate to have conceded two goals but scored three in return.
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