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Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior has been very complimentary of Arsenal ahead of Sunday's clash
Liam Rosenior has accepted his Chelsea side could have been more "front-footed" in their defeat to Arsenal earlier this month as he returns to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Blues have been beaten twice - both home and away - by the Gunners in less than two months under Rosenior. In the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at the start of February, Rosenior's side were chasing a goal to stay in the competition but were unable to create too many chances despite having the majority of the ball.
Paul Merson criticised Rosenior for how he set Chelsea up after failing to "lay a glove" on Arsenal. Rosenior has now conceded his side could have been more attack-minded in the defeat at the Emirates as the Blues return to north London less than a month later on Sunday.
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"You are always disappointed to lose out to one of your London rivals in a semi-final of a cup competition," said the Chelsea head coach. "I think there were availability issues - not an excuse. In fact, in both games, the first leg I was here for two games.
"We have to look at it with the right context. There was a really good structure of ours without the ball. With the ball, maybe we could have been more front-footed. In terms of going out to win the game, there was a clear idea that the players carried out very well. We did not get the result that we wanted and we want that to change on Sunday."
Chelsea are in desperate need of a positive result following back-to-back draws against Leeds United and Burnley. However, going away to the Premier League leaders will prove to be a really difficult challenge for the Blues, though Rosenior is confident the squad can achieve short-term success this season as they look to keep their place in the Champions League.
"Yes, this club should be in the Champions League," said Rosenior. "This club is a Champions League club. We just have to take it game by game.
"I think when I took over we were in eighth. We are now in the race. We have won four and we have drawn two. In the two games we have drawn, we are in complete dominance of both games. That is the reality and that is the facts. I like to look at that. It gives me confidence in the group that we can be successful in the short and long term."
Rosenior will come up against Mikel Arteta for the third time in his short tenure so far as Chelsea head coach. Arteta is someone who has impressed Rosenior during his time with the Gunners.
Rosenior said: "I have been impressed with him. The support he has received is because, probably day in, day out, they see the great work that he does and they support the process with which he has worked.
"They are an incredibly well-coached team in every aspect of the game. Whether they press really high, they have compact shape in low blocks, they are fantastic defensively, obviously set plays, they are well-coached and they play very good football as well."
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