Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has insisted that Alexis Sanchez’s departure from Arsenal will not have any effect on the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final tie.

The two teams played out a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge earlier this month in the first leg and a domestic cup final spot is at stake when the two collide again at the Emirates on Wednesday night.




Arsenal will be without Sanchez, who joined Manchester United on Monday, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not available to feature in the competition after representing the Red Devils earlier in the season.

However, Conte is not expecting Sanchez’s departure to have a huge effect as the Chilean did not pull up trees when he played against Chelsea earlier in the current campaign.
 


He also feels Arsenal have a good enough squad to face Chelsea’s challenge.  

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“Arsenal have a good squad”, Conte said in a press conference.

“Sanchez only played ten minutes in the Carabao Cup.

"He played against us in the league, now I don’t see any advantage in this situation.”

With the Premier League title more or less out of their reach, Conte is eyeing reaching the EFL Cup final and winning the competition for Chelsea this season.

It would be the first time Conte has ever won a cup competition as a manager.