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.

翻译：阿森纳遗憾地丢了两球，但也攻入三球作为回应。

文段翻译

米克尔・阿尔特塔执教期间，阿森纳的半决赛战绩实在乏善可陈。

但在之前四次两回合半决赛中甚至未能赢下任何一个回合后，阿森纳在卡拉宝杯半决赛首回合客场 3-2 击败切尔西，距离 2020 年足总杯夺冠后队史首个重大赛事决赛仅一步之遥。

枪手此前四次征战两回合制半决赛均铩羽而归，总共只打入两球，但如今他们将成为 2 月 3 日在酋长球场终结半决赛噩梦的头号热门。

阿尔特塔的球队本赛季表现出色 —— 稳居英超和欧冠积分榜榜首，同时已晋级足总杯第四轮。

这场比赛是阿森纳本赛季的第 32 场比赛，他们仅输过两场，且均是在英超客场分别不敌利物浦和阿斯顿维拉。

不过阿尔特塔和球员们都觉得，若能在次回合前进一步扩大胜场优势就更好了，毕竟球队渴望尽早锁定 3 月 22 日卡拉宝杯决赛的席位。

“首先，我必须表扬球员们的表现，表扬他们刚刚在对阵这支实力强劲的对手时踢出的比赛，” 阿尔特塔说。

“球场上群星云集，在我们以 3-1 领先、占据绝对优势的那段时间结束后，我们其实有两次绝佳机会打入第四球，那样的话比赛结果会截然不同。”

“但就在那个节点，对手发起反击，制造了一次角球机会并破门得分，让比赛重新充满悬念。所以这种感觉并不完美，但我们也必须肯定球队再次打出的精彩表现。”

约克雷斯迎来急需的高光之夜

自今夏以 6400 万英镑从葡萄牙体育转会阿森纳以来，前锋维克托・约克雷斯的起步远未达到预期。

这位瑞典前锋自上月对阵埃弗顿的比赛中打入一粒点球后便再无进球入账，而此次攻破切尔西球门的进球，是他自 11 月以来的首粒运动战进球。

过去几周，这位 27 岁的球员看起来信心不足，但此役他的表现，终于有了几分在葡萄牙体育 102 场比赛打入 97 球的巅峰状态。

他还为马丁・祖比门迪送出助攻，后者打入阿森纳的第三粒进球，帮助球队带着领先优势回到酋长球场参加次回合较量。

“这正是我需要做的，而且我能更频繁地做到这一点。我们今天赢球了，还要继续前进，” 约克雷斯说。

“比赛还有次回合要踢，但能带着胜利和优势离开客场当然是好事 —— 不过我们在次回合仍需拿出出色的表现。”

“我认为这是一场艰难的比赛。我们的防守做得不错。切尔西一如既往地擅长打反击，极具威胁，但我觉得我们的防守表现可圈可点。遗憾的是丢了两球，但进攻端我们打入三球，对此我很满意。”

本可以表现得更好吗？

当阿森纳以 2-0 领先时，他们似乎可以随心所欲地破门得分。

然而亚历杭德罗・加纳乔为切尔西扳回一城，将比分改写为客场作战的阿森纳 2-1 领先。

祖比门迪的精彩破门让阿森纳在比赛中第二次取得两球优势，但枪手再次未能守住优势，被加纳乔梅开二度。

若是能带着两球优势回到本赛季保持不败的酋长球场，阿森纳本可以占据极为有利的晋级位置，但切尔西如今仍未退出晋级竞争。

“我们下半场的表现不太好，给了对手太多施压的机会，” 进球功臣本・怀特说。

“这就是我们丢球的原因。表现实在没达到我们的标准。下半场的发挥确实有点令人失望，但好在我们赢球了。”

不过尽管半决赛的晋级形势尚存悬念，且阿尔特塔看似对比赛末段的表现有所不满，这位阿森纳主帅还是将重心放在了周六（格林威治标准时间 17:30）客场对阵诺丁汉森林的英超联赛上。

“20 分钟后，我就要开始考虑对阵森林的比赛，着手进行备战，确保所有人都能从这场硬仗中恢复过来，” 这位西班牙教头说。

“这是我们一贯的节奏。我对球队今晚的表现非常满意。把这场比赛翻篇，现在要专注于下一场了。”