Chelsea could only manage a 0-0 draw against Arsenal in the semi-final first leg of the Carabao Cup at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

Despite coming up against a depleted Gunners side, the attacking talents of Eden Hazard and co. were unable to make a breakthrough and gain the upper hand in the tie.

Here, we look at three things we learned from the encounter.

A GLIMPSE OF LIFE AFTER STAR DUO

Arsenal’s January transfer window has been dominated by the uncertain futures of both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, both of whom will become free agents in the summer. The Chilean has been heavily linked to league leaders Manchester City while Ozil has drawn the interest of Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.

The Gunners were quickly made aware of the bleak state of affairs should they fail to replace their star duo whether that is in this window or in the summer. Ozil was left out of the semi-final squad citing knee trouble while Sanchez was only afforded a place on the bench.

It left the visitors seriously lacking bite or panache in attack with Alexandre Lacazette being supported by Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi instead. Jack Wilshere was the one who looked most likely to unlock Chelsea if at all and it was only in the 65th minute that Sanchez was introduced.

Arsenal fans got a taste of a future absent Ozil and Sanchez and were presented with a side short of attacking quality against top opposition. The Gunners were uncharacteristically focused on keeping their opponents at bay while trying to sneak a goal against the run of play instead.

CHELSEA FAIL TO CAPITALISE

The hosts failed to make the most of the advantages they were afforded. At home, against a depleted Arsenal outfit lacking their main threats in attack, Chelsea weren’t nearly as adventurous as they could have afforded to be.

A certain level of caution in the first leg semi-final of a cup tie is usually understandable, but under the circumstances, Antonio Conte’s side should really have gone on the front foot and worked David Ospina a lot more than they did.

In the absence of the injured Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac, Arsenal’s defence was vulnerable and a more ambitious team could’ve gained the upper hand.

Wenger will be delighted to come away from the Bridge with a 0-0 draw and the Blues could well be left kicking themselves for not putting the tie to bed already.

CAN’T HANG YOUR HAT ON WILSHERE

Wilshere has been in good form since his return from injury and was significantly handed the captain’s armband for this fixture. He was the one pulling the strings for the away side and seemed to be at the heart of every one of Arsenal’s ventures forward.

However, almost predictably, he had to go off injured in the 58th minute. While Wenger has shown faith in the Englishman of late, affording him a leading role in the absence of Aaron Ramsey in particular, it was once again made clear that Arsenal’s central midfield demands reinforcement.

For all of Wilshere’s technical ability and influential play, he’s hardly the player you can hang your hat on over the course of the season.

His brittleness came to the fore again, leaving his side in the lurch with the rather unspectacular Mohamed Elneny having to slot in alongside Granit Xhaka in his stead.