Arsenal can still have a famous season — but they've thrown away a chance at history
The quadruple was a legitimate possibility, such is the way the season has played out. Arsenal baulked at the first big hurdle.
Arsenal can still have a famous season — but they've thrown away a chance at history originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . If you wanted a quiet evening out on Sunday, north London might be your best option.
Just hours after Tottenham Hotspur lost 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest to stare the threat of Premier League relegation squarely in the monocle, Arsenal surrendered to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. Nico O'Reilly scored twice for his boyhood club as Pep Guardiola won this trophy yet again. Arsenal, English football's immovable object this season, looked frozen in the limelight of Wembley Stadium.
This was the least significant trophy they hoped to win this year, but this final was supposed to be about more than just silverware: it was an opportunity to launch a dynasty, to put Pep and City in their place, to maintain a challenge for football's Holy Grail. The Gunners' chance of winning the quadruple was not an idle terrace daydream. It was a tangible opportunity, the pathway plotted with precision, the obstacles simply a part of the process, like figuring out how to get through a crowded box at a set-piece.
That chance evaporated quicker than the pre-match red smoke on Wembley Way. The dynasty was cancelled with less fanfare than the TV reboot. The possibility of the greatest ever season was ruined by the worst 90 minutes Mikel Arteta has overseen for months.