CARABAO CUP FINAL 

ARSENAL 0
MANCHESTER CITY  2 (O’Reilly 60, 64)

NO ONE remembers who wins the League Cup each year, and the memory of this sorry spectacle will quickly fade as the real-deal matches come thick and fast over the next month.

Arsenal are still odds-on to win the Premier League and remain in both the Champions League and FA Cup.

Tottenham, meanwhile, lost 3-0 at home this afternoon in a relegation six-pointer.

There are many reasons to remain cheerful, and it is far better to stumble in the Carabao Cup than during a Champions League tie or the title run-in.

A bounce-back here could prove telling for the bigger prizes.

After the match, Arteta said: “We played 50 games before today? Every time we have a draw or a defeat, we have to prove it, we have to do it again.

“We have a recent history of how this team has responded in these moments.

“Well especially to have some perspective on it. We’re going to use it as fire in the belly. We’ll manage the energy in the right way.

“We’ll go through the pain and disappointment, it’s part of football.”

In the moment, however, this was a hugely disappointing return to Wembley for the fans—many of whom had spent heavily to be there.

Season ticket holders were charged £150 for a seat, and there are more big games coming thick and fast.

It made the performance all the more frustrating given how well the Gunners started.

They dominated the opening exchanges, with Viktor Gyokeres looking a constant threat against City’s high line.

William Saliba seemed to have Erling Haaland’s number, drawing loud roars from the crowd after repeatedly shielding off the City striker.

The plan was straightforward: circulate possession across the back line, draw in the City press, and then go long towards Kai Havertz and Gyokeres.

Arsenal poured forward in the opening minutes.

Havertz found himself one-on-one from six yards, but James Trafford smothered well before springing back up to repel two follow-up strikes from Bukayo Saka.

The game ebbed and flowed, but City were firmly on top by the time Nico O’Reilly struck twice in four minutes.

The opener came after a calamitous fumble from Kepa, who—like Trafford—had kept his place ahead of the club’s first-choice keeper, as is often the case in the League Cup.

Rayan Cherki—the standout player on the pitch by some distance—floated in a simple cross that Kepa grasped at but allowed to slip through his hands.

O’Reilly reacted quickest, stooping ahead of Zubimendi to nod home from close range.

He doubled his tally minutes later, again from a routine cross that was not dealt with.

Saka had lost him at the back post, and it was a simple finish.

Arsenal did attempt a fightback, largely through Riccardo Calafiori, who came on for Hincapie.

He had a great chance to pull one back on 73 minutes, almost flicking in a Declan Rice free-kick, but his header went straight at Trafford.

Moments later, he unleashed a fierce strike that beat the goalkeeper but clipped the outside of the post.

Jesus injected urgency after coming on to join Gyokeres in attack, even hitting the crossbar with a header late on.

But it was too little, too late, and City were deserved winners.

Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo were far more dangerous than Saka and Leandro Trossard.

And Cherki operated on a different level to Havertz.

But did Pep Guardiola’s side really need to celebrate like that?

The wild scenes felt over the top for a trophy that none of the big six truly prioritise.

The brutal 3-0 Carabao Cup final defeat at Wembley in 2018 was Guardiola’s first trophy as City manager.

Those days, though, are long gone—and Arsenal may yet have the last laugh come May.

Arsenal: Kepa, Saliba, White (Jesus 81), Hincapie (Calafiori 65), Gabriel, Rice, Zubimendi, Saka, Havertz (Madueke 65) Rice, Trossard (Martinelli 81), Gyokeres
Subs not used: Raya, Mosquera, Jesus, Norgaard, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman

City: Trafford, Ake, Haaland, Cherki, Doku, Rodri, Silva, Nunes, Reilly, Semenyo, Khusanov
Subs: Donnarumma, Reijnders, Stones, Mamoush, Kovacic, Gonzalez, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden