Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior insisted he is accountable for Robert Sanchez's mistakes in Wednesday's 3-2 defeat to Arsenal.

The Blues will head into the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final needing to turn the tie around if they are to reach the Wembley showpiece.

Goalkeeper Sanchez did not help Chelsea's cause, with his errors leading to goals from Ben White and Viktor Gyokeres.

However, Rosenior, who replaced Enzo Maresca last week, took responsibility for those mistakes.

"The first goal was disappointing. It's a team goal. It's not just on Rob," said Rosenior, who is the seventh consecutive Chelsea boss to fail to win their first home game in charge (D5 L2).

"I'm asking Rob to do things that he hasn't done before. I said to him before the game, and I made this really clear, when my players make mistakes, I'm accountable. That's on me.

"He made a save in the second half that was absolutely world-class. That could have put us out of the tie.

"He will improve in terms of his understanding. He's had a very good season. There were very, very good moments with him. I'll stay positive with him, as I will with all the group. My job is to help them, not to blame them."

Cole Palmer and Reece James missed out due to injury on Wednesday, but Rosenior expects both of them to be fit to face Brentford this weekend.

However, Rosenior did urge caution with Palmer, who is struggling with a thigh issue.

"Cole, yes, this game came too early for him," said Rosenior.

"Hopefully, he'll be available to train on Friday and hopefully he'll be ready for us to play on Saturday. But he had a little minor strain in his thigh.

"If you play a player too early in January with a minor strain, it can turn to six weeks.

"I can't afford to lose Cole Palmer for six weeks because he's that good. Reece had a big knock on his hip. It was too sore for him today, so hopefully he'll be back for Saturday."