Arsenal humilated at Sheffield Wednesday; Jose Mourinho defends Chelsea players after another defeat

Arsene Wenger’s side suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat away at Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup last 16 with injuries to key players compounding a frustrating night

This month Arsenal have beaten  Manchester United, they have humbled Bayern Munich… and now they have been embarrassed by Sheffield Wednesday.

Arsene Wenger’s side suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat at Hillsborough on Tuesday night in the last 16 of the League Cup that could have ramifications far beyond their exit from the competition.

Glorious dream or dreadful nightmare, there is never an in-between with Arsenal.

The League Cup is the lowest priority for the Gunners, but there is no silver lining when a side competing for the Premier League title are beaten so convincingly by a Championship club.

The next crisis is only ever around the corner. It could be a run of horrible results or a stack of injuries, but even the most optimistic supporter knows that it is coming.
And it’s the muscle injuries that forced off Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and then his replacement Theo Walcott that could come back to haunt Wenger.

Wenger will most certainly be praying that the injuries to two important first-team players are not too serious with his squad starting to look worryingly thin.

Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck, David Ospina, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky are all already sidelined and two more added to the treatment table will only add to Wenger’s headache.

An injury to a key player like Alexis Sanchez or Mesut Ozil could be fatal to their hopes of a first league triumph since 2004.

Chelsea also suffered a penalty defeat to Premier League side Stoke City. Manager Jose Mourinho leapt to the defence of his players following Chelsea’s exit from the Capital One Cup and says suggestions that the squad are no longer behind him show a “lack of respect”.

The holders looked set to come back from the brink in the fourth-round clash with Stoke after Loic Remy’s late equaliser cancelled out Jon Walters’ strike.

But despite Stoke being reduced to 10 men, Chelsea could not grab a winner in extra time and eventually lost 5-4 on penalties as Jack Butland saved from Eden Hazard.

The loss meansChelsea have won just one of their last seven matches in all competitions and adds to the growing pressure on Mourinho.

There have been reports that this weekend’s clash with Liverpool could be crucial for his future while some have questioned whether the players are behind him.

But he was defiant in defeat, saying: “You honestly think the players are not with me? You think they didn’t give everything to win the game? That’s really sad, it’s not sad for me, it’s sad for the players.

The Portuguese boss – who has subsequently been hit by another misconduct charge from the Football Association over events at Upton Park, and had not spoken publicly since that match – said following the Stoke contest: “My general situation is fantastic.

“I have a day off tomorrow, a fantastic family. I can sleep well every night. I’m going to enjoy my day and Thursday. It will be one more day like I have had in the last 15 years of my life – honest and dedicated.