Rosenior responds after Merson pundit criticism

Liam Rosenior insisted that working as a TV pundit is "easy" after Paul Merson's criticism of his Chelsea side in their Carabao Cup semifinal defeat to Arsenal.

Chelsea lost 1-0 at the Emirates on Tuesday night in the second leg, having trailed 3-2 from the first leg.

Rosenior's tactics were questioned after a goalless first half on Tuesday night inside the Sky Sports TV studio.

"If this plan carries on, then he brings Cole Palmer and Estêvão on, we'll be lauding him," former Arsenal midfielder Merson said.

"We'll be saying it's unbelievable what he's doing.

"But if Chelsea don't go through after that first 45 minutes, the fans will be going mental because it's 45 minutes wasted.

"They haven't laid a glove on Arsenal. [Chelsea] have to win the game. Arsenal don't have to do anything. They are playing chess against each other, both waiting."

Questioned post-match about criticism from ex-players on TV, Rosenior said: "I have been a pundit, it's easy. It's easy in hindsight.

"If I go and attack the game, and press high, and we concede two goals early, everyone says: 'What is he doing?'

"That's the reality of my job. If you lose games you will be criticised and if you win, you are a genius. It's usually somewhere in between."

Merson added after Chelsea exited the competition: "They played in second gear. This is the semifinal of the cup, go out in a blaze! This wasn't a League One or League Two team coming to the Emirates to keep the score down, they have got the players to mix it with Arsenal.

"They didn't have a go. There are ways of losing. If they lost this game 3-0, after having shot after shot and Kepa was brilliant in goal, [you say]: 'That's the way it is.'

"As a player you'd be in the dressing room [thinking]: 'We didn't give it a go.'

"I have played in games like that, you come off and think: 'We have just got beaten, and we didn't have a go.'"

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Jamie Redknapp added: "At half-time they were delighted, clapping, thinking: 'This is exactly what we want to do, take them deep into the second half and work on the anxiety in the stadium.' But it didn't happen.

"Even the way they managed it at the end, trying to be aggressive, they lost their patterns of play.

"There will be a lot of regrets in that dressing room, thinking: 'We didn't do enough.'"