Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior’s four-word blast at Arsenal stars caught on camera | Football | Sport
Liam Rosenior showed his anger at some Arsenal players who wandered into the Chelsea half before their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg got underway. The head coach of the Blues was preparing his squad for what could arguably be his most significant match since taking over from Enzo Maresca. The team from west London arrived at the Emirates Stadium trailing Mikel Arteta’s side by a single goal, having lost the first leg at Stamford Bridge 3-2.
It was a massive challenge for 41-year-old Rosenior and his youthful team, who have been adjusting well to his approach. However, the usually cool and relaxed Blues boss was noticeably annoyed by Arteta’s players casually wandering into their half during the pre-match warm-up. Video footage of the incident seemed to show Rosenior hurling a four-word message at some players from the Gunners.
The incident was caught by the Sky Sports cameras, which unsurprisingly focused on the former Strasbourg manager. Sky’s Lewis Jones commented: “There’s always plenty of needle when Arsenal meet Chelsea and it’s already begun in the warm-ups.
“Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior was clearly irked by the Arsenal players venturing into his half. Rough lip readings suggest he was barking ‘stay in your half’ to his opposition. He’s fired up.”
Jamie Redknapp added on SKy Sports: “He’s got the needle for sure, you can see it there he’s telling them to stay in their half.”
His pre-match interaction with his fierce rivals was a stark contrast to his typically relaxed pre-match press conference. The former Hull City manager expressed confidence in his stars to overturn the one-goal deficit against the Premier League leaders.
He stated: “Yeah, I think my players, I look at Enzo Fernandez. [He] has won a World Cup as well as the group winning two trophies last year, can play in big games.
“They can perform in big games and it’s definitely a big game on Tuesday. I won’t speak about what Arsenal or Mikel Arteta have or haven’t done. That’s not my concern. My concern is resting.
“It’s another three-game week, we need to recover. It’s going to be a really physical game on Tuesday and [focus on] preparing the team as best I can for that game.”
When questioned about the potential impact of a win on his own reputation, the 41 year old responded: “I’ll be really honest. All this proof of me being right for the job or not, I don’t really care.
“I’m here to do the job. If we get to the final, it’s great for Chelsea Football Club that we’re in the final. It’s not about me. I will prove in time whether I’m worthy, whether I’m not, but it’s not at the forefront of my mind.”
Rosenior has had an impressive start at Chelsea, winning seven out of his first eight matches. The only blemish on his record was the defeat to Arteta’s Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
