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Moises Caicedo is suspended for the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg between Chelsea and Arsenal
John Obi Mikel has warned Moises Caicedo “must learn” from his red card against Arsenal as he misses out on going head-to-head with midfield rival Declan Rice again.
Caicedo was sent off for a wild tackle when Chelsea last played the Gunners at Stamford Bridge and now they are set for a rematch in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
But former Chelsea midfielder Mikel joked he was reluctant to make the comparisons again for fear of “firing up” Caicedo ahead of his midfield battle with Rice.
Caicedo is suspended for the first leg on Wednesday night, following a second yellow card in the competition in December’s quarter-final win over Cardiff, but will be available for the second leg next month.
Mikel said: “Let's not fire up Caicedo, because we saw what happened last time! When he got fired up, the game against Arsenal at home, and we saw what happened.
“So let's not fire him up, let's just keep him calm and cool, and hope he can stay on the pitch for the whole game this time.
“But no, listen, both are fantastic players. You know, Declan Rice, what he's doing now for Arsenal this season. I think he's absolutely brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
“Not just what he does with the ball, not just what he does off the ball, but he's that guy that carries Arsenal Football Club. He's that guy that carries the ball.
“We know what he's like when he gets going, when he's running with the ball, he carries them forward, he pushes them forward. He's always there, he dictates the game, he's controlling the game, he's breaking up plays.
“He's scoring goals now as well, which is absolutely brilliant to see him do that. You know, we know he could do that when he was at West Ham but now he's just taking his game to another level. And that's what you want to see players improving year in, year out.
“And Caicedo, for me as well, he's been absolutely brilliant for us. Super player, you know, he's always there, breaking up plays as well, he's chipping in goals now, and the aggression that I like to see him play with, I enjoy watching him play.
“But I just hope sometimes he can control his emotions. I hope he can learn from that. You know, the red card from last time with Arsenal, he can learn from that, he can grow from that. He's still a young player. They've both been absolutely superb this season.”
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