Cole Palmer and Reece James were among Chelsea’s absentees as they were beaten by Arsenal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Also missing out on the London derby were the likes of Malo Gusto, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens, who were all believed to be in contention to play.

Moises Caicedo also did not feature, but that was expected as the midfielder was suspended.

With a number of their best players out, the Blues were downed 3-2 in west London, giving Arsenal the advantage ahead of the second leg, but keeping Liam Rosenior’s side in the tie.

Ben White, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi scored the goals for the Gunners while an Alejandro Garnacho double lifted spirits at Stamford Bridge.

Rosenior hopes to have some of the absent players back by the weekend, with Chelsea hosting Brentford at 3pm on Saturday in the Premier League.

‘Cole, the game came too early for him. Hopefully he’ll be able to train on Friday,’ Rosenior told a post-match press conference. ‘He had a minor strain on his thigh.

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