'If Man Utd can beat them...' - Alejandro Garnacho aims subtle dig at former club as Chelsea prepare for Carabao Cup showdown with Arsenal

Garnacho finished his footballing education at United, joining the Red Devils' academy from Atletico Madrid in 2020 when he was 16. He starred in the club's FA Youth Cup triumph in 2022 and had a stunning rise into the first team under Erik ten Hag, scoring the Premier League's Goal of the Season against Everton in 2023 and netting in the 2024 FA Cup final win over Manchester City. But things took a sour turn when Ten Hag was sacked and replaced by Ruben Amorim.

The Argentine was disciplined after walking straight down the tunnel when substituted in one match and things came to a head when he was left out of the starting line-up for the Europa League final against Tottenham. Garnacho's brother lashed out against Amorim on social media as the coach explained he had left the forward out due to missing chances in the semi-final tie with Athletic Club. Garnacho also criticised the coach in a post-match interview, prompting Amorim to tell him in front of the entire squad that he 'better pray' that he would find another club.

The winger was placed in Amorim's 'bomb squad' with four other players, including Marcus Rashford, who were banned from training with the first team over last summer while they searched for new clubs. He angered United fans by wearing an Aston Villa shirt with Rashford's name on it and has taken another pop at the club that made him.

Garnacho told Chelsea's official programme ahead of the Arsenal return leg at the Emirates Stadium: "Everyone knows how hard it is to play there. When we lost the first game, I saw a lot of people saying, 'Yeah, but no-one won yet at the Emirates'. But now I think the view is a little bit different. If, for example, Manchester United can beat them there, we can do it perfectly."

United became the first team to beat Arsenal at the Emirates in all competitions this season when Matheus Cunha snatched a dramatic 3-2 win in Michael Carrick's second game in charge.

Garnacho scored twice in Chelsea's defeat by Arsenal in the first leg at Stamford Bridge, striking late to reduce the deficit to one goal and give the Blues hope of turning the tie around and making it to their first Carabao Cup final since 2022. He is Chelsea's top scorer in the competition with four goals but has only scored once in the Premier League following his £40 million ($55m) move from United.

The Argentine was one of three players hauled off at half-time by Liam Rosenior on Saturday as Chelsea trailed West Ham 2-0 at half-time, pulling off a stunning comeback after the break to win 3-2.

Chelsea boss Rosenior admitted that the tie is Arsenal's to lose but backed his players to rise to the occasion. "The reality is that Arsenal are favourites for the tie," he said. "They're a goal up and they're at home, so they'll expect to go through. We need to take it as far as we can and as deep as we can, then hopefully the second half will be massive in terms of turning the tie around. They can play in big games and they can perform in big games - and it is definitely a big game on Tuesday."

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: "Every team has its own things, I think Liam is doing an incredible job so far in different competitions as well, and tomorrow the tie has a context which is very specific when you talk about a tie. The fact that we play at home and we have the advantage but that we need to now make it very concrete in the manner that we approach the game certainly tomorrow to win it."