Arsenal 0 – Manchester City 2: oh well
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 22: Kepa Arrizabalaga of Arsenal fails to control the ball before Nico O'Reilly of Manchester City (not pictured) scores his team's first goal during the Carabao Cup Final match Arsenal and between Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on March 22, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) | Getty Images Arsenal fell 2-0 to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. It stinks to miss a chance at silverware, but it’s really hard for me to get too worked up about this one.
The absences of both Martin Ødegaard and Ebere Eze were acutely felt and the difference in quality between backup keepers shone through. You’ve got to question Mikel Arteta’s substitution patterns, too. And the League Cup just isn’t the competition for the Gunners.
Arsenal have lost seven finals, the most of any club. There is no way to analyze or dissect this match without first addressing Kepa’s mistake, unfortunately. His error was a game-changing one.
Manchester City had plenty of pressure to start the second half, but without that mistake, they don’t score. Arsenal’s defense was bending, but it wasn’t breaking. City had the ball in good areas, but the defending matched their effort with tackles and blocks.
I don’t think they managed a shot on target before Kepa spilled the ball to gift Nico O’Reilly a goal. Arsenal couldn’t find a way out of the back in the minutes leading up to the goal. They’d clear the ball, it wouldn’t stick, and it would come right back.
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