Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has accused Arsenal of showing a lack of respect during the warm-up before their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.
A furious Rosenior was captured by the Sky Sports cameras telling the Gunners, “That’s your half – that’s your ******* half. ******* stay there” before Chelsea went on to lose 4-2 on aggregate at the Emirates.
Footage from Sky Sports on the night showed a member of Arsenal’s coaching staff entering the Chelsea half of the pitch during the warm-up, with the Chelsea head coach admitting it “affected” his team’s ability to warm up.
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Speaking about the incident on Thursday (via Sky Sports), Rosenior said: “It wasn’t the [Arsenal] players. I’m respectful, when you warm-up you have your half and the other team has theirs. I’ve never asked my team or coaches to encroach on the opposition’s territory.
“In that moment, I didn’t think it was right where they were operating. They were affecting my lads’ and staff’s warm-up. I asked them, maybe not politely, to make sure they stay in their half.
“I’m not here to have mind games, it’s just what I think is right and respectful and hopefully we respect that and other teams do too.
“There are certain etiquettes in football. I always try and be as respectful as possible. I always want to win. I’ve never asked my coaches [to do that].
“I don’t have any issue with anyone at Arsenal. They have a fantastic manager. Mikel [Arteta] is someone I have so much respect for.
“It was just, in that moment, I didn’t think that respect was shown to my team.”
