Declan Rice makes eye-opening 15-word comment about Mikel Arteta as Arsenal win again

Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at the Emirates Stadium and Declan Rice has had his say on the Gunners after the victory

Declan Rice has shared how Mikel Arteta 'controls everything' at Arsenal following their Carabao Cup semi-final success against Chelsea. The Gunners secured progression to the final with a 4-2 aggregate victory over their London neighbours, with Kai Havertz's late strike proving decisive in a tight second leg at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal had established a commanding position after prevailing 3-2 in an entertaining first encounter at Stamford Bridge last month. Requiring only a clean sheet to book their place in the Wembley showpiece, Arteta's men appeared more cautious in their forward approach during the return fixture.

The Blues also showed reluctance to commit numbers forward early on despite trailing on aggregate, with Liam Rosenior deploying a defensive five-man backline. Chelsea's conservative strategy proved partially effective as they avoided conceding until throwing players forward desperately in the closing stages.

Nevertheless, Arteta has systematically constructed a defensive structure that proves extremely difficult to breach consistently. The Spanish tactician has transformed Arsenal considerably in recent seasons, with Rice offering frank praise for his manager following the triumph.

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Speaking to CBS Sports, he declared: "Our manager has total control of everything, from top to bottom of the football club! Everyone listens to him, we all believe in his work. Gabi Heinze has come in, defensive coach, he's been unbelievable!"

Earlier in the discussion, when asked about his condition, Rice responded: "Shattered, the schedule has been ridiculous and when you're playing Chelsea, who have got so many good players that are constantly making you work [it's not easy].

"Credit to them it could have gone either way tonight and in the first leg but I think everything we've been building towards over the last few years has come together this season. We're into our first final in a very long time so we need to enjoy the moment."

However, the celebrations are likely to be brief, with focus quickly shifting to their upcoming Premier League encounter this Saturday at home against Sunderland.

A journey to Brentford follows the subsequent Thursday, with the Gunners then welcoming Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup that weekend.

Arteta's squad will then have an opportunity to gain an advantage over some of their competitors, with a March fixture against Wolves being brought forward to later this month.

This alteration has been necessary because Arsenal are now travelling to Wembley on the weekend they were originally due to face the Premier League's basement club at Molineux.

The rescheduling means Arsenal will have reduced preparation time for the North London Derby away at Tottenham. Nevertheless, Arteta is unlikely to be overly troubled, given the reason is Arsenal reaching a major final for the first time in almost six years.

Following the triumph, he said: "We are so happy. I think overall, over the last two games, I think we deserved to be through. It was a long match, we expected that.

"We wrapped it up at the end in a beautiful way, with Kai scoring the goal in the match that he did and the reaction from the crowd.

"The starters, the finishers, the staff, it just was magical. So I'm really happy because it was a really tough match against a great opponent and we are in Wembley."