Jack Wilshere injured as first leg of Chelsea-Arsenal Carabao Cup semi-final ends in stalemate

Nothing to separate these two rivals in a disappointing game that was a pale imitation of last week's captivating league contest at the Emirates.

The decisive second leg takes place in a fortnight. Arsenal face Bournemouth and Crystal Palace before then, while Chelsea take on Leicester and Brighton either side of their FA Cup third-round replay against Norwich.

Goodnight.

Full-time

Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal

Alonso struggles to get the better of Bellerin and Chambers clears the ball into touch.

Chelsea work it right and Fabregas' return pass for Moses goes behind for a goal kick.

Five minutes of added time signalled by the fourth official. Can either of these London rivals strike a late first-leg blow?

One angle shows Welbeck getting the ball and, after a brief delay, play restarts with a corner that is headed over by Batshuayi.

Willian releases Fabregas down the right channel and his cross deflects off Xhaka and onto the post.

Atkinson is now receiving word from the VAR after Welbeck's earlier challenge on Fabregas. Conte was adamant that it should be looked at.

Arsenal applying a bit of pressure here as we enter the closing stages. Xhaka's hopeful shot skips up off the turf before being gathered by Courtois.

Elneny is booked for a trip on Morata, who makes way for Michy Batshuayi.

Elneny's effort is charged down by Moses. Five minutes plus stoppage time remaining.

Willian tries to outmuscle Sanchez and gives away a free-kick. Bakayoko for Hazard is Conte's second change of the evening.

Are Chelsea content with a goalless draw?

Kante slides in late on Welbeck and joins Xhaka in the book.

Sanchez's free-kick towards Mustafi at the back post bounces wide.

Welbeck's shot from just inside the Chelsea box is blocked. Xhaka, already on a yellow card, is now walking a tightrope after a couple of cheap fouls in quick succession.

Hazard strides down the Chelsea left and shapes to cross, but cannot find a way past Holding.

Kante puts the brakes on an Arsenal counter involving Sanchez and Iwobi and Alonso tries his luck with a tame shot that is easily held by Ospina.

Mustafi gets his head to another Chelsea cross and Ospina has no issue in holding a deflected long-range strike from Willian.

15 minutes to go at the Bridge.

A clever cross from Moses is cleared.

Iwobi carries the ball forward with purpose for Arsenal before rolling a sort of laughable toe poke into the path of Courtois with Sanchez and Welbeck both in support.

More injury concern for Arsenal as Chambers stays down for treatment after being deceived by that piece of skill from Hazard.

Chelsea's first change of the evening sees Willian replace Drinkwater.

Hazard neglects to shoot after fooling Chambers and Holding, instead trying a pass to his right. Maitland-Niles clears.

Alonso's looping cross from the left is flicked on by Maitland-Niles before a low drive from Moses is deflected over by Mustafi.

Ospina is caught in no man's land from the subsequent corner and Christensen heads a good chance wide of the back post.

Mustafi clears another cross before Sanchez jogs on in place of the underwhelming Lacazette.

Chambers remains vigilant to clear away an Azpilicueta cross intended for Hazard.

It looks like Sanchez is preparing to enter the fray for Arsenal.

Arsenal had really been struggling to escape their own half before Maitland-Niles' dangerous lofted ball towards Welbeck is claimed by Courtois.

Chelsea break but it's another disappointing passage of play from Morata.

Some gung-ho defending from Mustafi almost opens the door for Morata, who ends up playing the ball into the side netting as Ospina comes out to close the angle.

Wilshere looks dejected as he tosses the captain's armband to Mustafi and hobbles off to be replaced by Elneny.

Wilshere limps back on but surely won't be able to continue.

Morata finds himself in a lot of space in a central position and his well-struck shot is parried by Ospina.

Arsenal have been put under a lot of pressure in the early stages of this second period.

A powerful cross from Drinkwater struck Wilshere before that corner and Arsenal's stand-in captain goes down holding his dodgy ankle.

A nervous sight for Wenger.

Shouts for handball from the Chelsea fans as Drinkwater's shot hits the arm of the sliding Mustafi. Nothing given.

The hosts work another corner, which is glanced on by Alonso before hitting Morata and flying wide of the near post.

Rudiger dispossesses Wilshere and sprints forward before being wiped out by Xhaka, who receives the first yellow card of the match.

Alonso's left-footed free-kick goes behind off the wall and another short corner from Chelsea is deflected out for a throw-in on the far side.

Morata does well to hold up a short Fabregas cross and almost presents a chance for Hazard before Chambers repels the danger.

Kante's centre from the left is flicked on by Alonso before being headed over by Christensen at the back post.

It's been a promising start to this second half from Chelsea.

Chelsea go straight on the offensive as Moses' cross is turned away for a corner by Rob Holding.

Fabregas' corner is missed by almost everyone before Kante's shot is inadvertently blocked by his own teammate in Christensen.

Back underway at Stamford Bridge. No personnel changes at the break.

Barkley is introduced to the Chelsea fans during the interval.

A competitive opening 45 minutes notably short on quality and chances, with that penalty shout on Maitland-Niles the only semblance of a talking point.

Did VAR get it right in that instance?

Half-time

Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal

Arsenal are a tad slow to come out of defence and Azpilicueta plays in another deep cross that is headed straight at Ospina by an unmarked Fabregas. That is probably the best chance of the night so far.

One minute of added time signalled at the end of this pedestrian first half.

Mustafi gives up a needless free-kick for a foul on Morata down the Arsenal left.

Fabregas's ball is headed behind by Welbeck.

"Arsene Wenger, we want you to stay" is the chant from the home contingent as Courtois plucks a free-kick out of the air.

Hazard is then just unable to seize on a flick from Fabregas as Maitland-Niles keeps watch.

Thibaut Courtois pushes away Iwobi's shot after the Nigerian intercepts a weak Rudiger clearance.

Maitland-Niles then goes down in the box after a slight tap on the foot from Moses. Atkinson breaks to take word from Swarbrick before signalling for a goal kick rather than a penalty.

Wilshere is denied a free-kick before Mustafi is penalised for holding Morata.

Fabregas shapes to shoot before teeing up Kante for a right-footed strike that is sliced over the crossbar from the edge of the box.

A desperate lack of quality in this game so far.

A bit of a reckless, studs-up challenge from Bellerin leaves Fabregas in pain.

Atkinson takes some brief advice from the VAR before allowing the game to carry on.

Hazard finds some space out on the left flank and plays in Fabregas, whose enticing cross is behind Morata and diverted out for a corner by Maitland-Niles.

Drinkwater's shot from the edge of the penalty area might come down with snow on it. Dreadful.

Another Arsenal corner comes to nothing before Kante stops Iwobi in his tracks.

Still goalless after 30 minutes.

The VAR in use there after Azpilicueta and Chambers engage in a bit of argy-bargy at an Arsenal corner.

Atkinson initially misses the squabble before giving both players a bit of a talking to.

Moses takes advantage of an inopportune slip from Maitland-Niles down the Chelsea right.

His first attempt is blocked by Mustafi and the second is pushed against the post by Ospina.

Alonso takes on Bellerin before pulling a shot wide off the outstretched boot of Chambers.

Chelsea take a quick corner of their own and Hazard's cross is headed clear by Xhaka.

There have been one or two minor lapses in communication from that Arsenal backline tonight and you wonder if a more significant error is coming.

Moses cuts inside Maitland-Niles with ease before unleashing a powerful drive that is initially spilled by Ospina before being gathered at the second attempt.

Morata was lurking to turn home the loose ball, but would surely have been flagged for offside.

Lacazette draws ironic cheers from the home fans after collecting a lofted pass from Wilshere and lashing his shot high into the stand. Not sure if it was Azpilicueta or Rudiger playing him on there.

At the other end, a low pass intended for Moses drifts out for a goal kick.

Moses reacts well to win a free-kick after Xhaka's low pass towards Welbeck goes beyond Azpilicueta.

Iwobi shows impressive strength to hold off the challenge of Alonso before being scythed down by N'Golo Kante.

Xhaka's free-kick from 30 yards deflects behind off the wall and a short corner from the pair is easily cleared.

Xhaka ends up fouling Hazard in midfield after those wasted set-pieces.

Arsenal playing some risky stuff at the back as Chelsea look to win possession in dangerous areas.

Alexandre Lacazette weaves his way through a couple of blue shirts before the attack breaks down.

A curling low cross from Bellerin is cleared into touch by Azpilicueta after good work from Wilshere.

Morata is then dispossessed by Mustafi after taking down an accurate long pass from Azpilicueta.

Chelsea have tried a few of those during a somewhat cagey opening 15 minutes.

Arsenal drop off and Azpilicueta's deep cross is headed behind by Mustafi before it can reach Morata.

The subsequent corner is taken quickly by Hazard and Victor Moses sees a volley blocked.

A long ball from Morata - who missed several big chances against Arsenal a week ago - goes astray and Bellerin wins a corner off compatriot Marcos Alonso on his side's first real foray into the Chelsea half.

A disappointing delivery from the right is cleared away by Fabregas at the front post.

Arsenal under the cosh somewhat as Hazard releases former Gunners stalwart Cesc Fabregas with an exquisite flick.

However, his pass out to Drinkwater is overhit and Maitland-Niles can intercept.

Not much action to speak of during the opening five minutes, but Hazard is looking dangerous for the hosts.

Plenty of early noise from an excited crowd.

Expecting a match report on the whistle...

Alvaro Morata drifts in behind Calum Chambers to collect a clever through pass from Hazard.

The Spanish striker gets to the byline before harmlessly prodding the ball into the side netting from a tricky angle.

Referee Martin Atkinson, supported by VAR Swarbrick and an assistant in the video operations room at Premier League production headquarters at Stockley Park in Uxbridge, gets proceedings underway.

Both teams are decked out in their familiar home strips.

Stand-in captains Cesar Azpilicueta and Wilshere lead out their respective teams after a lively light show from Chelsea at the Bridge.

Wenger takes his seat among the journalists in the press box.

The young centre-back only completed his move from PAS Giannina last Thursday.

A veteran of just 16 Greek Super League appearances, he is expected to be loaned out to the Bundesliga before the end of the month.

Wenger very coy on Sanchez's omission during his pre-match broadcast interview with Sky Sports.

"You cannot explain every single decision, that is the decision of today."

The plot thickens...

I feel like there's a gag to be had here, but I can't quite put my finger on it...

We should mention that there is no Francis Coquelin again for Arsenal tonight as the French midfielder closes in on a £12m move to Valencia, where he will join former Gunners teammate Gabriel Paulista.

It is Andreas Christensen's first game for Chelsea since signing a new four-and-a-half-year contract on Tuesday.

Here's what both managers had to say about the use of VAR...

Conte: "As you know very well in Italy from the start of the season they are doing this.

"I think it is a good opportunity to improve our football, but at the same time it will be important to have a bit of time to use in the right way this new option. I'm positive though, because when there is a big mistake it's right to try to correct it."

Wenger: "Yes, of course [he welcomes it] because there are so many things happening recently I think we would welcome it, but first of all there is still a demand for clear rules on, for example, what is a penalty and what is not a penalty before we go into VAR as it can get more confused as well."

Wenger claimed that Iwobi would be fined if it transpired that he had gone out just 48 hours before the Forest defeat, insisting that it was simply a birthday party rather than anything too outrageous.

Asked how it might have affected his performance, he added: "Who knows that? You must have played football, you know that sometimes you want to prepare 100 per cent but sometimes it is not a guarantee that you will be at your best. but that is what is requested from a top-level professional."

Chelsea are five-time winners of the League Cup, last lifting the trophy in 2015. They beat Forest, Everton and Bournemouth to advance through to this stage of the competition.

Wenger has never won it before, with Arsenal's only two triumphs to date coming in 1987 and 1993. They saw off Doncaster, Norwich and West Ham en route to the semis this year.

Still no new contract for "Super Jack", however...

Arsenal confirm that Ozil misses tonight's first leg with what they describe as a "slight" knee injury that has triggered a visit to a specialist, per Charles Watts of football.london.

No Cahill on the bench for Chelsea...

Ospina, Rob Holding, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Iwobi and Welbeck all remain for Arsenal from that 4-2 defeat at the City Ground, with Per Mertesacker, Mohamed Elneny and Theo Walcott dropping to the bench.

Sanchez and 20-year-old defender Mavropanos are among the substitutes, as mentioned earlier. Mustafi and Xhaka have both been deemed fit enough to start.

Nine more changes as expected from Chelsea as Conte reverts back to his strongest XI, with only Antonio Rudiger and Danny Drinkwater retaining their starting berths.

There are two alterations from the team that drew the league game last week, with Gary Cahill and Tiemoue Bakyoko making way for that aforementioned pair.

Official lineups have dropped. Stand by...

Neil Swarbrick will once again deputise as the VAR after fulfilling the role in Brighton's win over Palace.

A review was not initiated in that fixture after Glenn Murray's winning goal appeared to flick off his thigh amid suspicions of handball.

However, I think I'm right in saying that it would have been looked at by the VAR anyway and flagged up if there had been an obvious error.

It's all a tad confusing...

A reminder that VAR, which is not being deployed in either leg of the Manchester City-Bristol City semi-final, can only be used to assist the match referee in the following four game-altering scenarios...

• Goals
• Penalty/no penalty decisions
• Direct red cards shown or not shown (second yellow cards are not able to be reviewed)
• Mistaken identity

Here's more on tonight's use of VAR. Let's hope for another relatively quiet evening as far as the technology is concerned - I'm not sure Wenger could take any more controversy...

The hosts are not thought to be dealing with any other injury concerns following the return of David Luiz, though tonight's match is likely to come too soon for new £15m recruit Ross Barkley.

"Tomorrow night is very soon, is very soon for him," Conte said at his pre-match press conference yesterday. "We must be pleased because his physical condition is good and is starting to have the training session with us and understand our idea of football.

"We must be pleased, but he needs a bit of time. His condition is good, very good. I don't know [when he might play]. But I am very positive, he is a good guy and is showing a great will to work and desire to help us very soon. This is very positive and I am very happy to have Ross with us for the rest of the season."

Barkley has yet to make a single appearance this season after undergoing groin and hamstring surgery during the summer and had only been back in training with Everton for a couple of weeks before his move south.

The big news from a Chelsea perspective is that star man Eden Hazard is recovered and in "good condition" after missing the goalless draw against Norwich with a kick to the calf sustained in this fixture last week.

Conte also indicated a willingness to field a strong team after making nine changes at Carrow Road.

Arsenal are without several regular first-team players in Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Sead Kolasinac, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud for this match, while David Ospina will start ahead of Petr Cech in goal and new signing Konstantinos Mavropanos is expected to be named on the bench.

Wenger is set to name a strong starting XI after Sunday's horror show at Nottingham Forest, with Alex Iwobi in line to feature despite the furore over a video that surfaced on social media appearing to show him at a party in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi were both expected to undergo late fitness tests.

Word on the grapevine is that Alexis Sanchez, who was expected to start tonight, has only made the bench for Arsenal amid rumours that long-term suitors Manchester City have opened talks over a potential £20m January deal for the contract rebel.

Danny Welbeck is set to be given the nod instead of the Chilean. I'm sure that won't turn into a major talking point during silly season...

After Championship promotion hopefuls Bristol City's heroic and successful effort to avoid a pasting at the home of runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City on Tuesday night, attentions turn to the more eagerly-anticipated of the two Carabao Cups semi-final ties this evening.

Pitted together in the first leg at Stamford Bridge for the second time in seven days are London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal, who played out an engrossing four-goal league draw last week before experiencing different levels of frustration in FA Cup third-round meetings against spirited second-tier opponents.

Arsene Wenger will watch the action from the press box as he serves the second game of a three-match touchline ban, while Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology will be trialed in an English domestic fixture for the second time following its rather low-key debut in the M23 derby clash between Brighton and Crystal Palace on Monday.

The controversial system, already used in several countries across the world and likely to be adopted everywhere from next season, will also be used in the second leg on 24 January and in the final itself at Wembley Stadium next month.

Kick-off in this one is at 20.00 GMT - stay tuned for all the latest team news and live updates.